


Hellfire

by Violet1309



Series: Agent Hellfire [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, Grant Ward Isn't Hydra, Grant Ward-centric, Hellfire Grant Ward, Iris Message (Percy Jackson), POV Grant Ward, Protective Grant Ward, Rick Riordan Demigod Universe | Riordanverse, SHIELD 616 | The Bus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:01:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24898102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet1309/pseuds/Violet1309
Summary: When 12 years old Grant Ward accepted a way out of his prison of a home, he had no idea what he was about to experience. Was it stupid? Yes. Was it also the best decision he ever made? Yes. He had no idea how much his life would change as a result of the split-second decision. How much pain and suffering he would endure, yet it would give him a place to finally call home.Eighteen years later, fully-trained and well-respected SHIELD Black Ops Specialist Grant Ward, Codename: Hellfire, is reassigned to SHIELD Team 616, where he must hide who he is from his team. It's something he does often, but things prove difficult when they are all living close to each other.But as time goes on, he asks himself, just how long can he stay hidden?
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons, Natasha Romanov & Grant Ward, Phil Coulson & Melinda May, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Grant Ward
Series: Agent Hellfire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801636
Comments: 42
Kudos: 96





	1. Pilot

**Chapter 1- Pilot**

****

_"Agent Ward, there's been a new development. It's the Rising Tide. We need to abort."_

"I'm five minutes away from retrieving the package."

_"So is everyone else. They posted the coordinates online."_

"If the job was easy..."

_"Yeah, it wouldn't be any fun. Watch your six."_

Puffing out a breath of annoyance, he cut off the power to the engine of the motorbike which he had 'borrowed.' The job itself was fun- he had access to things he normally wouldn't have access to, and he had an excuse for knowing how to fight. But compared to his quest with the rest of the Eight on the Argo II? This was plain boring.

He slid off the seat and slipped off his leather gloves, then producing a metal tray from inside his coat.

Silently, he slipped inside, using his training to blend in.

_"Red tie, by the window."_

He headed to the person in question and took their glass.

He ignored the chatter of the guests, making a beeline for the apartment upstairs.

Bypassing the system's security was no problem. Was this even security?

It was going very well. He secured the package easily. That is until he was caught red-handed and the interception team arrived. Oops. he should know better. Never tempt the Fates by thinking your safe or that it's going well.

They didn't wait for him to attack, working as a team, hoping to corner him in the kitchen.

_"Ward just a heads up. We may have possible hostiles in your vicinity."_

"Really?"

He probably shouldn't have done that, but he just couldn't help himself. _Humour was a good way to hide the pain._ That was what Leo always said. And he couldn't help but think he was right. You could laugh around, joke, pretend everything was all fine when it really was the opposite.

He ducked a punch from his opponent, before grabbing a drawer and slamming it on his head, then kicking it against the oven. Then he smashed the glass blender on the other man's head.

****

Agent Hill's Field Office  
Location: Classified

Sitting across him was Maria Hill, looking irritated and bored at the same time. It was a position you did not want yourself in.

"What does SHIELD stand for, Agent Ward?"

Hill's tone was like her personality- no-nonsense, and strict all the time. He had to admit, she was the perfect example of a professional.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Hill leant back, seemingly relaxing a little. "And what does that mean to you?"

"That someone wanted our initials to spell out SHIELD," he joked.

Hill shot him a look, indicating she was not impressed, and her irritation was growing back.

"It means we're the line- between the real world and the much weirder world," he amended. "We protect people from the news they aren't ready to hear. And when we can't do that, we keep them safe. Something turns up... Like this Chitauri Neuro-Link." He pulled out the package he secured in Paris and slid it over the desk. "We get to it before someone bad does."

Hill stood up and placed it in a case, seemingly satisfied with his answer. "Any idea who Vanchat was planning to sell it to?"

"I'm more interested in how this Rising Tide group found out about it," he interjected. "I thought they were just hackers. What changed?"

"Everything's changing," Hill replied. "A while ago, people went to bed thinking the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire, in a flying metal suit. Then aliens invaded New York and were beaten back, by among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the '40s, and a god."

"I don't think Thor's technically a god."

"Well, you haven't been near his arms." Hill placed her hand on the desk. "The Battle of New York was the end of the world. This- now- is the new world. People have access to tech, to formulas, secrets they're not ready for."

Ward leaned forward. "Why was I pulled out of Paris?"

Hill crossed her arms. "That you'll have to ask Agent Coulson."

He looked at her, confused. "Uh, yeah. I'm Clearance Level Six. I know that... Agent Coulson was killed in action before the Battle of New York. Got the full report."

Coulson stepped out of the corner. "Welcome to Level Seven." Noticing his bewildered look, he tried to explain. "Sorry, that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself." He looked back. "I think there's a bulb out." 

Phil Coulson was alive.

The Hub  
Location: Classified

Ward dutifully followed Coulson and Hill towards one of the Hub's many command centres.

"Director Fury faked your death, to motivate the Avengers."

"Well, the death of a common ally is a particularly effective team-builder."

"Plus," Coulson said, "Wasn't that much of a stretch. I stopped breathing for about 40 seconds."

"Eight, it gets longer every time you tell it."

"Yeah, well, you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini, and you can tell it your way," he retorted. "I was looking at the big white light, and it felt a lot longer than eight seconds."

"Do they know?" he questioned. "The Avengers- that Fury played them?"

"They're not Level Seven," Hill replied.

"Got out of the ICU, Fury stuck me in a grass shack in Tahiti. Rough gig. Mais tais, Travis McGee novels, and a physical therapist whose command of English was... Irrelevant."

They stopped in front of a large screen playing footage of a hooded man jumping out of an exploding building, landing on his feet, and walking away.

"What is that?"

"That's a superhero, Agent Ward," Coulson replied.

"An unregistered gifted. Identity: Unknown."

_"The secret's out. For decades your organization-"_

_"On May 2nd, an unidentified object-"_

"Another little present from the Rising Tide," Coulson explained.

Ward looked at him. "How are they getting this stuff before us?"

"Same way they cracked our RSA implementations."

Hill looked Coulson as if to say _Why the hell did no one tell me?_ He couldn't blame her. He felt the same way, but more insulted. They had millions of dollars at their disposal. Why were they beaten by mere citizens?

"They're good," Coulson continued, completely oblivious to Ward and Hill's expressions. "So I need better."

"Agent Coulson has requisitioned a mobile command unit, to which you are assigned."

Coulson walked to a table and picked up a binder. "Rising Tide is trying to draw us out. I think it's time they succeeded."

He had heard these lines before. "You want me to cross them off?"

Coulson looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "What? No. I want to use them, to get to him." He jerked his head towards the screen. "This man's world is about to get very weird. He's gonna need some help."

A welcoming committee. He was sure this was Coulson's idea. Sure, he had experience with people with powers, being one himself, but this was just insulting. He was a Specialist- a fighter, not someone from communications.

"I'm sorry." He figured this would be a good way to start. Apologize first, then complain. "I was trained from day one as a Specialist. I go in, _alone_ , I get it done. Defusing a nuclear bomb- I'm your guy. A welcoming Committee? Not my speed."

Hill looked at Coulson as if to say _I told you so._

"I know it's not what you want," Coulson sympathized. "Agent Hill did a very detailed assessment of your last three missions." He opened the binder. "Combat- top grades. Espionage? She gave you the highest marks since Romanoff, though considering she was your SO, not really surprising. Under people skills, she drew a- I think it's a little poop, with knives sticking out of it." He showed the drawing to him. 

"What?" he asked. Ignoring Hill's comments about it being a porcupine. Either Coulson was blind, or Hill was a terrible drawer. It was obviously a porcupine. And he understood perfectly. He was prickly. He could be a people's person- he just didn't want to. The fewer people he knows, the less likely for people to find out his status. 

"And given your family's history-" Ward tensed up at that. "I'm surprised it's not worse. But..." He closed the binder. "I think you're the guy for this. If I'm wrong, you go straight back to your bombs."

It seems like he's not getting out of this.

****

"I've read the files on your new team-mates," Hill said as they headed down the corridor of the Hub. They were headed to the apartment section of the Hub. He needed to pack and Hill needed to talk to him in private- where the conversation wouldn't be recorded. "I'll forward the files to you later- the parts that your level can access, anyway."

"Are any of them aware?"

"None of them, not even Coulson, will be aware of your _skills_ , so to speak. It is and will remain Classified Level Nine intel. Agent Coulson is your team leader, and you're his second in command. Congratulations on the promotion, by the way."

He nodded. "Thank you. What are orders regarding my..." he trailed off. "It's not completely avoidable in the field."

"I know that, and so does Director Fury." They stopped in front of the door leading into Ward's apartment. "We could not deny Coulson's request for you to be his team's Specialist, _however..._ " She gave him a stern expression. "We would prefer to keep them in the dark about this. But if it should deem unavoidable..."

"Got it."

He understood her perfectly. Keep it hidden, and on the occasion, you should use it, try to keep it hidden.

****

True to her word, Hill forwarded a copy of the files for each of his teammates- the parts he could access with his clearance, anyway. They were pretty empty and made for dull-reading, but he read them anyway. Two of them were too young to have anything of importance in their files, and the other two had a significant portion of their files redacted, requiring a higher clearance level needed, but at least he had enough information for when he met them.

**Phil Coulson** _Level Eight. Leader of Team 616. Fifty-one years old. Field agent, specializing in hostage negotiations and first contact situations. 'Died' during the Battle of New York. Now returning to fieldwork. Solid marksman and average combat skills._

 **Melinda May** _Level Seven. The pilot of Team 616. Forty-nine years old. Former field agent, trained as a weapons specialist. Formerly partnered to Phil Coulson, now serving in administration due to 'personal reasons' after the events of a mission in Bahrain, where she earned the name 'The Cavalry'. Formerly an above-average combatant- current ability unknown, due to leaving the field several years ago. Has agreed to pilot the Bus, but not to re-enter the field._

 **Leopold Fitz & Jemma Simmons** _Both have individual files but are listed together enough to have a combined file. A team since their early days at SHIELD's Sci-tech academy, FitzSimmons are nearly inseparable and tend to finish each other's sentences. One is an engineer and the other a biochemist. Both are twenty-five years old. Neither has been in the field before. **NOTE-** FitzSimmons are **Not** cleared for combat._

He re-read the information again to make sure he read it right and that his dyslexia wasn't acting up. He was working with two agents- who could most likely protect themselves, but also past their prime, one of which who was refusing fieldwork. He didn't doubt them, but then he had two kids who he knew he would have to take care of, and they weren't even cleared for combat. 

Why the Hades are they going in the field if they're not cleared for combat?

A firefight was almost a certainty in the field.

How would he hide his powers?

Coulson's out of his mind.

Fighting the urge to chuck the laptop across the room, he slammed the laptop shut and shoved it in the duffel bag he'd packed ahead. He was moving on the plane tomorrow, so he might as well pack ahead.

He had already returned his apartment's entry card. There was no use paying for something he no longer required. Then he had packed his belongings into the duffel bag. All that was left was to leave first thing in the morning.

Maybe the team would surprise him.

****

They didn't.

There was nothing surprising about the team. Nothing that he didn't already know.

FitzSimmons was arguing about the schematics of a gun, (which he barely understood.) They were, in a word- adorable- like two little puppies, which the most painful thing they've ever experienced was a brief tap on the nose with a newspaper.

Their first firefight was going to rattle them completely, and he wasn't sure if they could handle it.

May was exactly was he expected. Cold and closed off and despite her age, extremely attractive. She could've easily passed herself as someone fifteen years younger.

Looking at her, he could see the legend she was, yet he could also see the ghosts of what happened in Bahrain, her own demons lurking just under her skin, ready to lash out at anyone at any notice. He was familiar with that look. It was what he saw when he looked at himself in the mirror. The deaths and the suffering he endured.

Gods help whoever was stupid enough to stand in her way.

As for Coulson?

There were children that were less naive than him.

Ok, that wasn't completely fair. He'd read through his file, and he was definitely someone he could possibly enjoy working for. Hill pegged him as a by the books SHIELD agent, with a sense of humour. 

Apparently, he also worked with Barton in the past and oversaw Romanoff when she was recruited to SHIELD, so they could hold a conversation on that if nothing else.

After walking on the Bus for the first time, he was certain of one thing.

Hill needed a new set of notes.

****

They had tracked the IP address used by the member of the Rising Tide who was responsible for uploading the video of their gifted onto the internet. Coulson drove the SUV, leaving his beloved Lola behind (just why did he have to bring a collectible car- with a girls' name on a long-term mission?), and drove towards the source.

Coulson tells him an anecdote about a border collie that seems pointless, but when he sees the man smiling and shaking his head, he realizes his mistake.

It was supposed to be a joke.

He still doesn't get it.

He's heard of bad jokes- most of it coming from Leo- which they all laughed at the lameness of them, but this is just new.

They track the source to a purple van parked in an ally, and they pull open the door, looking like every bit the SHIELD agents the Rising Tide is describing, and they catch their mystery hacker mid-broadcast. She makes a half-assed snarky comment at them ("Hey. What up?"), and he wastes no time throwing the black bag over her head.

But not before he takes in her appearance.

She's stunning.

Completely and breathtakingly beautiful- the type he sees when he sees Aphrodite.

But that's not what gets his attention.

Not her snarky comment, or the look of innocence she gives them.

It's her eyes.

The two of them lock eyes for a split-second before the bag covers her head, but it's enough to recognize the eyes.

They're the eyes of the woman who showed him that demigods weren't the only ones living among mortals.

The first person he confided in out of Camp. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This is the first chapter of my first work (and series) on this website. It mixes Agents of SHIELD (which I am obsessed with) with elements from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus. If you haven't guessed already, Ward is a demigod. I'll leave you to guess who his godly parent is. Hint: his godly parent is his mother.
> 
> Please tell me what you think of this idea- it'll only take a minute.
> 
> -Violet1309


	2. Pilot pt. 2

**Chapter 2- Pilot pt. 2**

****

_They're the eyes of the woman who showed him that demigods weren't the only ones living among mortals._

That's his main thought as they make their way back to the Bus. Coulson drives, with the girl sitting quietly in the backseat, and Ward can't help but sneak glances at her every few seconds.

Coulson's a trained agent, he's sure to have noticed, so either he's too focused on driving- which doesn't seem likely due to his knack to crack jokes, or he's just ignoring him.

Eventually, he stops sneaking glances and just blatantly stares at her, keeping his eyes glued to the rear-view mirror. He watches her as she shakes her head side to side, trying to get rid of the bag they put over her head.

He just can't stop looking at her.

The drive back isn't long, and before long they're pulling up on the cargo ramp, beside Coulson's beloved collectible car. He doesn't wait for Coulson to finish parking before he slipped out of the passenger seat and helps their anonymous hacker out of the back seat.

He takes her elbow, and careful of handcuffs, gently guides her up the stairs and into the Cage- their built-in interrogation room and prison cell. Swinging the door open, he moved her to the chair, helping her sit and securing the handcuffs.

It occurs to him that this is the gentlest he's ever been with a suspect, even though he's generally gentler with people. The thought makes him frown at himself as Coulson closes the door and takes the seat in front of her, nodding at him to unclasp the cuffs.

And he does so, unclasping the cuffs, tossing them on the table, then loosening the bag and ripping it off her head.

She shakes her head as she attempts to get her hair under control, glaring at both of them. He already has his face blank of emotion in response, while Coulson smiles in an attempt to reassure her.

"You guys have just made a really big mistake."

"Really? You don't seem that big," he deadpanned.

"Oh. Was that a mistake? Or am I sitting in the middle of your secret headquarters?"

He tries to restrain himself from rolling his eyes, but Coulson seems like he knows what he's trying very hard not to do.

"Ok, there are two ways we can do this," he said.

"Oh," she snarked. "Is one of them the easy way?"

"No."

"Oh."

"What's your name?" Coulson interjects before something unpleasant happens.

She glanced at them. "Skye."

He leans down over the table, occupying the space beside her. "What's your real name?"

They have a brief staring contest, and they lock eyes. She'll admit that he's attractive, sure- anyone with eyes can see that, but it's his eyes that leave her unnerved. It's enough to make her shiver, almost as if he's burning her away, layer by layer, yet she also feels a sense of safety.

She's not sure how long they stay like that before Coulson awkwardly clears his throat, drawing their attention towards him.

The middle-aged man shoots the Specialist a questioning look, and all he gets is a blank look, all emotions wiped in an instance. She can feel her face burning, a blush spread across her cheeks.

And she's not quite sure why.

****

They get quite a lot out of her, but she's good, learning how they get the information and changing her words.

He's almost impressed. Almost.

Now they have a couple of leads on the man from the footage, whose name is Mike Peterson, and was a subject of 'Project Centipede', something they were going to look into after. Now Coulson wants the girl to trust them.

Why?

He doesn't trust her.

But he wants her to join the team anyway.

What. The. Hades is wrong with him?

It has to be those eyes- seeing them has gotten him completely off-guard. She's gotten under his skin and made him vulnerable without saying a single word.

He needs to call her soon. She's going to be pissed that they haven't talked in a while.

And worried.

Lost in his thoughts momentarily, he doesn't see Coulson moving to stab him in the shoulder with the truth serum- even though every cell in his body was screaming 'run'.

"What the hell?"

"I'm sorry," (He's not), "Did that hurt?"

"No." He knows he sounds like a whiny child, but what the Hades? He nearly slipped and said Hades instead of hell. He rubs his shoulder, feeling the substance flowing through his veins, and he's glad he didn't catch the needle because _that_ would've taken some explaining. "And yes, it did hurt, but I always try to mask my pain in front of beautiful women because I think it makes me seem more masculine. My gods this stuff works fast!"

He sits down, rubbing at his shoulder, and just barely catching what Coulson said.

"Don't trust us? Ask him whatever you like."

His head snaps up in alarm.

"Wait a minute. You can't just... This is definitely not protoco-"

That's all he gets before Coulson moves out of the room and shuts the door behind him.

The girl smirks, shrugging off her jacket and pressing her breasts together.

If possible, he'd say she seems even smugger.

"You seem nervous, Agent Ward."

He swallows. Very hard. "No, not nervous."

"Really?"

"I rarely get nervous."

"Why is that?"

"When you've seen pretty much everything in the world, there's not much to be nervous about."

Her eyes shot up. "So you've seen _everything_? Like the Avengers?"

"Some are friends. Some I just barely tolerate." He left out the fact that an Avenger was his SO. 

"What? Really?" Her voice became an octave higher, and it didn't take a genius to figure that she was a fangirl (was that what it was called?), and if it kept him from saying classified SHIELD intel (READ: demigod secrets), then he was all for it.

"Yes. I was considered to join, but wasn't a good fit."

If possible, her eyes widened even further.

"You were supposed to be an Avenger?" She paused. "Do you have powers?"

He clamped his mouth shut trying hard not to tell her. "It's Classified Level Nine intel," he gritted out.

She looked disappointed. "Oh." She brightened up again. "So who's your favourite?"

"Black Widow." He didn't hesitate, but if he didn't do anything, he was willing to bet she'd get bored quickly. "Let me guess, Iron Man?"

She bit her lip nervously and looked at the table, but that was enough of an answer for him.

"Coulson's a fan of Captain America." Her head shot up, surprised at the free information, "I'm sure he'd like to have a long debate with you."

She raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you don't like him."

"It's not that I don't like him, I just haven't decided if I do-"

"-Your head's bobbing. You okay?"

He can feel it once she's mentioned it, his heads swaying from side to side as he speaks, and he can tell that it's been a couple of minutes since the serum's been injected.

The serum's wearing off.

"I'm okay."

"Then what's going on?"

"I'm just going to take a nap." He yawns widely, despite him not wanting to. He never knows what he's going to see in his dreams. "Coulson probably wants to see you. You should go."

"How?"

He can barely answer, as his vision's blurring. "Door's unlocked."

He's unconscious before she can say anything else.

****

Leaving the door behind her, she steps into what she thought was going to be their super-secret headquarters, though she could recall that they didn't seem nervous when she gloated being in their 'super-secret headquarters'.

That's because she's on a plane.

A very nice plane- much nicer than her van- and she heads for where she can hear a noise, making her way to the lounge area, where she finds who she's looking for and several other people.

Agent Coulson's here- of course, after all, Ward mentioned that he was in charge, so it made sense that there would be other people here.

The first was an Asian woman, around Coulson's age, if she had to guess. She stood at the back of the room. She had the same look Ward had- no-nonsense, emotionless mask.

The other two people in the room- one boy, one girl, were much closer to her age, looking like a matching set, were speaking in harsh whispers, seemingly finishing each other's thoughts. They both had accents, though they were too quiet for her to make out.

"Is he asleep?" 

She was brought out of her thoughts by Coulson, bringing her attention to him as she nodded, and he allowed a small smirk to dance at his lips.

"He tell you anything?"

"That he rarely gets nervous." She could feel the others' gaze on her, most likely wanting some gossip material on their friend. "Because he's seen pretty much everything there is to see. Some of the Avengers are his friends, some he just barely tolerates. His favourite Avenger is Black Widow and he was supposed to be an Avenger. When I asked if he had powers, he fought the serum and said it was Classified Level Nine intel."

She noticed that the two in the corner started whispering even more rapidly to each other

Coulson stared at her disbelieving. "Classified Level Nine intel?"

"Yep. Oh, and apparently you like Captain America."

He got a faraway look in his eyes. "Yeah. He's cool."

She giggles, and he looks offended.

"Also, he doesn't know if he likes you yet."

It doesn't take long for them to have somewhat of a serious conversation, and she decides she likes his style, even if May and Ward don't, or just simply not care.

Then it's decided, the science twins- one British, one Scottish- who call themselves FitzSimmons (as she said- they're a matching set)- need the audio in her van to 'sync up' with the data they already have. She and Agent May- the living equivalent of a brick wall, are getting her van back in the ally to get a copy of it while FitzSimmons prep for it and wake up Ward on the way.

They actually have somewhat of a good plan.

And maybe while they're at it, she can finally find what she's dedicated her life to looking for.

****

FitzSimmons are trying to have their sedating weapon ready- the 'night-night gun' (there's no way in Tartarus he's going to allow them to call it that if they're going to use it in the field), and Coulson wants him- he _orders_ him to wait.

He's never been good at following orders- a bad habit he picked up from Percy. Besides, he can do the math in his head.

One life against hundreds, maybe even thousands.

It's unavoidable. He shouldn't, but in case FitzSimmons aren't ready...

That's how he decides his targets. He can almost hear Chiron's voice in his head, telling not to.

They've got a location.

He picks his short-range sniper (forged by Beckendorf, made to shift into any weapon), ignoring his superior as he loads it in the back of the SUV.

He knows Coulson wants to yell at him, but they don't have time, and if they're lucky, he won't have to use it.

Silently glaring at him, but not saying a single word, Coulson slides into the passenger's seat.

 ****

Coulson's attempt at talking down the violent and desperate powered man goes as well as Ward could possibly expect it to go. He respects the man for trying, but Mike Peterson's desperate, and desperate people do things they otherwise wouldn't do (like trust a complete stranger).

Just as Coulson finishes talking, he quietly steps off to the side, fearing the worst.

And he's right.

The side door to Skye's van is completely torn off and thrown at them, aiming to take out both, but he'd already gotten out of the way.

Coulson dropped down to avoid getting hit, and he turned his head to not get smacked in the face.

He saw Coulson staring at him in bewilderment, probably wondering how he knew the man was going to throw the door at them.

Oops. If he had already let Coulson see his reflexes, how long would it take until they find out he's a demigod?

He ran into the station, with Coulson following him, ordering May to join them, and for FitzSimmons to have their magic gun ready.

The station's panicking slightly, people trampling over each other in an effort to get away. Tracking them should take a few minutes at most, but Skye's smart.

She's started a fight between Peterson and a group of morons, who try to flee when they see how bad of a disadvantage they are at, which is a good thing, since they're causing mass panic, effectively clearing the station.

Peterson's scanning the station, no doubt looking for something. Or someone.

He runs behind him, kicking him in the back and holding him in a headlock, sending his senses to read his temperature, and he nearly loosens his grip from the feedback.

He's unstable.

There's not much time left for him.

And if he ends up like the rest of the Extremis subjects, then they're in for some serious trouble.

Unless FitzSimmons have their magic weapon ready.

"Listen, the stuff inside of you is unstable. It will kill you and everyone in here." His attempt to talk down the man goes as well as Coulson's.

"Who's going to miss us?"

He slams him into the board behind him, glass shattering and scraping his back, and sends him flying to the second floor, hitting the wall (he hears a sickening 'crack'), and collapsing on the ground.

He moves to get up and stumbles from the pain.

He can feel an exploding pain in his chest, and he grasps the railing for balance.

" _Quod in inferno_ ," he muttered. "I survive all these battles and get a couple of broken ribs from a volunteer for a stupid superhero program."

Before he can say anything else, however, two gunshots rang out.

He immediately dropped, rolled to the side and came up standing, despite the pain, and just barely dodged the bullets.

Seems like Centipede is trying to assassinate their missing test subject.

He sighs, but before he can do anything to stop the man, 'The Cavalry' swoops in.

He's seen women fight before, having fought with Black Widow and the Mockingbird, he's fought against them, and of course, there are his demigod brethren. They're the type of people who fight using tactics, using their opponents' strength and size against them, all while looking completely graceful, like dancers finishing a number.

But that's not how she fights.

There's no grace in how Melinda May fights.

She walks up to the guy and brutally overpowers him and leaves him unconscious on the ground.

For a woman who's physically past her prime and out of the field for several years, he can't help it.

He's very impressed.

"Agent Ward-"

The Scottish one- Fitz- the engineer, runs straight at him, and thrusts the rifle he was holding into his arms.

"The 'Night-night gun', it works, it-" The engineer is out of breath from running, panting as he's trying to explain to him, but only two words register in his mind.

_"-it works-"_

Turning around, he digs the butt of the rifle in his shoulder and tenses, preparing for the recoil of the fire. The scope's off, and the weight distribution needs to be sorted out before it could become a liable weapon for consistent field use.

But he isn't 'the best since Romanoff' for nothing. He adjusts accordingly, setting the scope slightly down and to the centre of Mike Peterson's forehead, his finger taking up the pressure.

He can see Skye, Coulson and May down there, but he pays them no attention. He has one target and the fate of hundreds of people are dependant on his aim.

_Take a deep breath, and exhale when you pull the trigger. That's the key to a straight shot._

His breath goes in.

He exhales and pulls the trigger.

Mike Peterson falls.

****

"Are you alright?"

A voice in a soft British voice brings him out of his thoughts and he drags his attention to Agent Simmons stood, staring at him concerned.

"Sorry?"

She chuckled. "I asked if you're alright. After all, Mr. Peterson _did_ hit you very hard earlier."

You have no idea.

"I'm fine."

The answer's automatic- an instinctive response, but it's necessary. It keeps people from checking his injuries, looking into his bloodwork. It stops them from noticing the way too many scars- even for a Specialist, or the missing half of his DNA.

The injuries weren't _that_ severe. Nothing a little nectar and ambrosia wouldn't fix. 

"Are you-"

"I'm sure. Thanks for your concern."

She looks at him disbelievingly but nods before returning to the lab.

"You did well today."

She whirls around, eyes widened. "I'm sorry?"

"You and Fitz," he explained. "Did good work today. Coming up with a solution that not only stopped Peterson, but also managed to stabilize the serum in a couple of hours. Not a lot of people could pull that off."

"Well... Thank you." She's blushing, clearly flustered. "Is what Skye said really true? Were you really supposed to be-"

Before she can finish her question, Fitz scrambles through the doorway, May trailing in after him, handing him the Bus's direct SHIELD line to him. He quickly presses it to his ear, getting a new report.

There's a possible 0-8-4.

It's in Peru.

And HQ wants them to go in and confirm it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this didn't take too long. I'm disappointed that no one's guessed his godly parent. Like, which goddess has pyrokinesis as a power? I'm kinda thinking about making him a legacy. Take a guess if you want. Legacy wise, he's Roman, so he has Greek and Roman blood, like Frank. 
> 
> Hopefully, I can get the next chapter up before the next morning.
> 
> -Violet1309


	3. 0-8-4

**Chapter 3- 0-8-4**

****

"This is a bad idea."

Walking through the mobile command unit, which he'd already decided, with May's approval (sort of), that his team was going to call it 'The Bus', Coulson couldn't help but roll his eyes at the 5th repeat of the warning his new second-in-command gave him.

Yes- it's true that he had wanted Ward aboard for several reasons, one of them being risk assessment, but it had been fifteen minutes since he first started complaining, and he really needed to get over it. The paperwork had already been sent in from HQ, where it sat on his desk, unfinished.

"The girl stays, Agent Ward." He a quieter tone he added, "Just get over it already."

The Specialist shot him a look that would even make Romanoff's knees buckle, indicating that his muttering had indeed been heard by the Specialist, as May joined the debate.

"Ward's right." They both ignored Ward's look of thanks, as Coulson tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, but his former partner gave him a look that conveyed that she knew exactly was he was trying not to do. "You have two kids on this plane and you want to add a third?"

He came to a stop in front of the holo-table, turning around to give them his full attention. "I'm looking for an objection I haven't already anticipated."

"She's not Agent material."

"I agree." Taking pleasure in the surprise that crosses their face, he continues. "Which is why she's joining us as a Consultant."

Ward rolled his eyes. "Like Stark? _Great_..." 

His sarcasm was ignored by both of them, but it gives him a reason to grimace.

He's more than positive that if they ever find out, he'll die (again). Not wanting to give him anything, he slid a cheery smile over his face, knowing that it'll annoy the Specialist.

"Yeah. Just like Stark."

****

Somehow, she had managed to go from a freelancing hacker (she wasn't a cyberterrorist, no matter what Agent Pessimist said), to a partial member/consultant to one of the faceless government agencies she'd spent years complaining against in a single day. Now she was in another country working for them, tracking down a 'thing'.

_Would I need a passport?_

She grimaced, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

_I hope not..._

She grinned as she looked at the team's science duo, who introduced themselves under one name- FitzSimmons. They were both British- one Scottish, one English. They were both dressed like Oxford professors, and there definitely was a little bit of a mutual crush going on.

They even had their own ship name!

She wanted to laugh at their cuteness.

They were taking selfies by the trees, trying to get as much of the natural jungle scenery in the background of their photos, and she couldn't help but smile at them.

She caught a glimpse of a flash out of the corner of her eye, and she turned around, where a full smile blossomed at the sight of them. They were pressed up together at the foot of the pyramid, and Simmons had her phone out.

Her hand was halfway to her pocket to take out her phone when she caught sight of him.

Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome was staring at them and shaking his head, his expression somewhere between amused and exasperated.

_Yeah... Looks like someone I could get along with._

She shook her head, remember how he had been during her interrogation- dark and mysterious. Now it was like he became a totally different person- relaxed and calm.

His eyes had a broken look to it- like fracture glass, and she could see when the sunlight hit them, it seemingly lit a fire- like a campfire, warm and welcoming.

She giggled slightly, but that was enough to draw his attention to her, raising his eyebrow at her, only for her to be pulled away by Coulson.

"So what's my role in this?"

She gestured to the other four members- May and Ward scouting the area, and FitzSimmons cooing over their hi-tech toys at the foot of the pyramid.

"If this gets out I want you to create some kind of diversion, put the public on the wrong scent."

"So..." She narrowed her eyes at his expression. "Everything I'm against?"

"Do you remember the panic when the anti-matter meteor splashed down just off the coast of Miami?"

"What?" Her eyes widened. "No..."

"Exactly." His expression morphed onto a grin. "Because we kept it quiet and contained."

They locked eyes, his blue with her brown. "So why are we here exactly?"

"As I said, someone in SHIELD got word of a potential 0-8-4 around here."

"And it means what exactly?"

He gave her a knowing look. "It means... We don't actually know what it means."

****

From his spot beside the ancient pyramid, Ward took in all of his surroundings, his ADHD helping him see every detail, and he stretched his senses, searching for heat signatures.

Of course, there was no way he could tell which were enemies, and six days was not enough to recognize his teammates' heat signatures, so it wasn't much use, but at least he knew where there were people.

He shook his head as he focused on the current area. He couldn't see Coulson, Skye, or FitzSimmons, but he assumed they were in the pyramid, and May was also scoping out the environment.

_At least someone here does their job properly._

He wasn't mad at FitzSimmons- in fact, he was quite amused, but they should be thinking about the mission.

He took a minute to walk the length of the pyramid (temple, whatever, like it, matters), and he went in, making sure that everything was okay in there.

FitzSimmons was standing at the entrance checking their gadgets, while Coulson and Skye were standing to the side.

He took a quick look at the work area, checking for any structural damage (he was glad Annabeth made him read architecture) that FitzSimmons were content to ignore, then let his eyes wander towards the 0-8-4 just as he heard Fitz say that the craftsmanship is almost German.

He recognizes the material immediately.

And he's aware of the brief fear that crosses his face and tries to hide it.

German. Hades. World War II. Stygian Iron and Ice.

This was most likely made by a child of Hades.

He's lucky that demigods rarely fight with each other anymore.

In the wrong hands, it could be fatal.

He needs to have a talk with Chiron.

****

It's an easy decision to leave the rest of the team (excluding May) with the 0-8-4.

They know what they're doing, and don't have bad intentions.

He steps out of the temple and made his way over to May, who was staring blankly ahead, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

"Where's your sidearm?"

His voice broke her out of her musings, as she tore her eyes from the trees to face him head-on. He was good- his file said that much (the parts that she could access, anyway). Twenty-five and rumoured to the 'Best since Romanoff', and she was the best of the best. Based on what she had seen so far, she'd describe him as skilled, but she wanted to reserve her opinion on him. She had met men who were complete assholes, and though it seemed unlikely, she couldn't help but wonder, was he one too?

She'd love kicking his ass if that was the case.

"If I need a gun, I'll take one."

"Right. Forgot I was working with 'The Cavalry'."

She shot him a look that would've made Clarisse back down. "Don't call me that." She smirked. "'Hellfire'."

He looked at her suspiciously as the circled the tree line. "You don't have the clearance for that kind of knowledge. Even knowing that's me requires a Level Eight Clearance."

"Coulson told me."

He didn't bother to hide the exasperated sigh that came out of his lips. "Of course he did."

"I am curious, if some of the stories they say about you are true, 'Hellfire'."

"Well... I'll you mine if you tell me yours 'Cavalry'."

"Mmm..." She made a noise of discomfort in her throat. "Maybe next time."

Then they struck.

May's arm shot into the trees, taking the person's gun, effectively pulling them out, slamming him on her knee, rendering him unconscious and pointed the gun at him.

Ward decided to do a more direct approach, pulling his opponent out by the collar, flipping him on the ground and aiming his gun at him.

"So you did need a gun."

She smirked. "And as I said, I took one."

The 'click' of safeties being taken off assault rifles reached his ears before he saw them, and he dragged the now human shield to his feet and put him between himself and the small army that emerged from the trees, weapons aimed at them.

****

The three of them heard the shouting match long before Ward came back in, looking a bit more distraught than when they last saw him.

"We've got company. National police."

"What?"

"Why are they here?"

"They heard about this object, they're probably here to protect it. This area has lots of rebel uprisings. Are we ready to go?"

"Well," Simmons spoke up, "We need at least ten more minutes to safely remove the 0-8-4 and get it in a secure container."

Nodding to show that he had heard her, he pointed at a black backpack on the ground. "Is that the secure container?"

"Yes, why-"

That was all he needed to hear. He stalked over to the 0-8-4 and gently pried it from the wall, ignoring Simmons's squeak of horror and shoved it into the pack.

"Woah." Fitz came over. "Woah, Woah, Woah, Woah! Wait. You did not just pull that out of the wall. What is the matter with you? Do you realize we do not know the amount of photon emissions coming out of this."

"Okay." He shoved the backpack on Fitz's back.

"And we don't know what it'll do if it gets excited!"

"Stay close."

****

_"Ward, you can speak six languages. Simmons, you have two PhDs in fields I can't pronounce. And Fitz, you_ are _a rocket scientist. So work it out."_

****

He sat on the couch reading his book, glancing up every few seconds to keep an eye on their new Peruvian friends. Just because Coulson trusted Reyes, didn't mean he had to.

"Hunger Games?"

He lifted his head, to see Skye standing by the armchair, holding a bottle of whiskey in her hand.

"'Matterhorn'. One of the hundred books, my SO suggested for reading that I'm just getting around to."

She gave him a confused expression.

"SO- supervising officer."

"Got it. Hackers have lingo too, but I'll pick yours up. I feel like you and me- wrong foot. Can I... Buy you a drink?"

He smiled and gestured for her to come over.

She walked up to him and plopped herself on the coffee table. "When I said before- when I said the 'Uprising' was... Whatever I said. A good thing? I don't want you to think I'm oblivious. What I was talking about were the tweets."

"Tweets." He looked at her incredulously. "You trying to make things better or worse?"

"Peruvians have organized for the first time in decades," she explained. "Thousands of suffering people who have never met uniting over a common idea? It's mind-blowing. And, I don't want to bring it up, because I don't want to see your 'Hate Face', but that's what the Rising Tide is all about."

"Okay."

"Usually, one person doesn't have the solution, but one hundred people, with one percent of the solution? That'll get it done. I think that's beautiful. Pieces solving a puzzle."

He nodded. He could relate to that. He often felt as if his life was a puzzle- as if each piece was a puzzle, warnings, prophecies that you tried to decipher, but never could.

"Guess I spend too much time with Specialists."

"I've never been in a war zone, during a war, until today. That was crazy. I take it you've seen that a lot?"

He sighed and took a drink from his glass. She had no idea. He leaned forward and set it back on the table, letting her see the gunshot wound.

"Wh- did you get shot?"

"Skin deep, nothing to worry about."

"You got shot! Did that happen protecting us?"

He smiled reassuringly at her. "Said don't worry about it."

"Well, no wonder you were so pissed."

"I wasn't pissed. Just a little on edge. It's just..."

She looked at him. "Go on."

"In the field, you take risks. Every mission could be your last. Sometimes you die, sometimes you don't. I'm lucky to even survive to this age." He cleared his throat, and Skye got the feeling that he let something slip. "That is to say, being in the field is dangerous. Most of the time, people die."

He turned and glanced at the soldiers. They were relaxed, everything was fine. Why was he feeling uneasy?

Then he saw them nod to each other.

"Skye. Hand me the bottle."

"Okay Turbo, but you're still nursing the one you got."

"I'm not the only one." He motioned to the soldiers.

He nudged her out of the way as the soldiers charged him. 

He slammed the first soldier's arm into the glass, then flung him over the couch, dragging himself with him. He launched himself over the couch and coffee table, shoving his other opponent into a pillar, and punching him in the face, just as Coulson made his way down.

They both turned their attention to the screen, where a soldier was holding a grafter to Fitz's neck.

He looked at Coulson for confirmation, and he nodded, telling him how he wanted this to play forward. 

He raised his hand up in the air, and let them handcuff him, then doing the same to Skye, and taking them to the cargo hold.

The lab doors were already sealed, and FitzSimmons and May were already handcuffed. May was unconscious, and their guard was suffering from a black eye and a split lip- a sure sign that May decided to fight back.

He smirked at that, and at the sight of his amusement, he earned a sharp blow in the back of his head with the butt of an assault rifle. He barely felt it, due to having much more serious injuries before, but he still dropped down onto one knee playing the role of the weak and hurt Specialist.

He heard a couple of chuckles coming from the soldiers across the room- mainly the one who had hit him before he did it again, and he dropped to the ground, feigning unconsciousness.

Keeping his eyes shut, he focused on his hearing as they dragged him to the other three.

He heard Skye protesting as they handcuffed her to the cargo bay doors before he felt them contorting him in the same position, and only when they were sure they wouldn't escape, did they leave them alone.

****

"Well, at some point we need to come up with an escape plan, Jemma. Now would be a really good time to start."

"Well, I just think we would greatly benefit from Agent Ward's assistance."

"And Agent May's"

"What?"

"No, no. She transferred from admin."

"Well, I've seen her put down a guy, so..."

"Do you three _ever_ stop talking?"

"Agent Ward!"

"Finally we can-"

"-How long have you been awake?"

He pried his eyes open to see the three youngest members of the team staring sideways at him, and May on the far end, doing a better job at hiding her annoyance than he was.

"I was never actually unconscious."

He ignored the open mouths he was receiving from the scientists and focused on enraged, somewhat cute glare Skye was giving him. "Hang on. So when I sat here, for _fifteen_ minutes, you're telling me you heard everything?"

He chuckled, taking pleasure in her discomfort. "I did enjoy the part about you missing your fuzzy bunny slippers. Never thought you were that kind of person."

She turned a bright shade of beet red as he clamped down on the smile that was threatening to break out, and pulled at the restraints, testing the locks. They were each cuffed to the bar that raised the cargo bay door, which was connected to the airlocks. The lab doors were sealed, and they were connected to the door to the lounge by the same sealing mechanism.

"If we break this bar, we'll all get sucked out, right?" He broke through the next mini-argument that was starting between the trio before Fitz nodded.

"You're right. If we break this bar, we'll release the pressure from the door, and we'll all die."

"I still think we should wait for May to wake up."

"What?"

"Why?"

Ward slid his knife (previously the short-range sniper) out of its sheath, drawing their attention to him.

"What was that?"

"A knife," he deadpanned. 'You guys ever heard of 'The Cavalry'?"

"She's 'The Cavalry'?"

"I told you to never call me that."

Oh boy. May's awake.

The younger three members whipped their heads around to look at May, who moved to test her restraints in the same manner he did, before giving them her full attention.

"Well 'Hellfire'," he rolled his eyes as FitzSimmons's jaws dropped. Did clearance mean nothing to them? "How do you suppose we get out of this?"

He looked at her. "Oh, so there's _we_ now?"

She shot him a glare much like the one on the archaeology site. "I want my plane back."

"Okay, well, how _do_ we get out of here?"

****

_"You've given the team something I couldn't."_

_"Oh," she looked down at him amused, like a cat with a mouse in its paws. "What's that?"_

_"A common enemy."_

****

The plan itself wasn't complicated.

When Fitz said that the first step was to get out of the handcuffs, May broke her wrist and he used his knife to pick the lock, both of them amused at the ill reactions from the younger members.

They helped the others from the handcuffs- May picked the lock Simmons had, and after he was sure no one was looking, he used the Celestial Bronze coated blade to slice through the cuffs and dropped the remains in a disposal unit, with May doing the same.

He went with May, who was standing at the door to the lounge, while Skye drove the SUV into the lab doors, breaking the seals.

_She seemed far too enthusiastic about the idea._

_This may have been a mistake._

He could think about it later. As Skye broke the seals, FitzSimmons went into the lab, making sure everything was stable, as he and May charged into the lounge.

She immediately went for the first two, attacking their oxygen supply in two swift strikes, and he couldn't help but be impressed as they fell to the ground, struggling to breathe.

May ran forward, sending a high kick at the man in front of her, while he went sideways, leaping over the couch and sending his elbow down on his opponent's jaw, hearing the 'crack' as their jaw broke.

A quick uppercut to the already broken jaw ensured that he wouldn't be waking up for a little while.

Another man sneaked behind him, grabbing his chest. Acting on years of experience, honed by years of training, he lifted his head back, slamming the back of his head into the soldier's nose and threw him over his shoulders before slamming his knee down, knocking him out on impact.

And then someone blew a hole in the side of the plane.

_Who decided setting off the 0-8-4 was a good idea?_

The small explosion blew a hole in the side of the plane, knocking him sideways, sucking out the three men in front of him and he grabbed the metal pole in front of him as one man grabbed him by the arm, no doubt trying to toss him out of the plane.

He took a deep breath and cautiously lifted one leg, kicking him in the chest, sending him flying out of the plane.

The kick was enough to make him lose his grip, and he nearly fell out of the plane, before the inflatable safety boat expanded to fit the hole, and he looked at a heavily breathing but relieved Skye.

"I read the safety pamphlet."

He chuckled and nodded. "I think you might be the first."

****

"Really? Really Coulson? Six days? It only took you six days to take a completely renovated piece of state of the art machinery, and turn it into scrap?"

Coulson shrank back slightly, as Director Fury dressed in the black leather trench coat he wore when chewing someone out, paced up and down the cargo hold.

"My team acted with my authority," Coulson said, trying to get the blame shifted away from the team.

"Don't talk to me about authority. Do you know how much this plane cost? It's got a bar! A really nice one. Talking to me about authority."

He scoffed, not looking amused in the slightest. "You've got two kids, not cleared for combat. Another kid, consultant, ex-Rising Tide, not cleared for combat. Former Specialist, past her prime, not prepared for combat. Then you've got _him..._ "

"Agent Ward?"

"Yes. Our little 'Hellfire'."

"You still won't give me anything about him."

"Level Nine only. You know how it works."

"I know Sir, but-"

"So basically," he continued as if he didn't hear him, "You've got a team that could never be authorized for fieldwork, but I let you have it anyway, and then you let them trash this plane... And then you still have the _guts_ to talk to me about authority." Fury continued to pace in front of him, making him more nervous each step. "I want it fixed, just like you found it. So don't have FitzSimmons going around making modifications like a-a-a-a damn fish tank."

"Yes, Sir."

"And the new girl. She's a risk."

"I know Sir."

Fury left him alone walking back to the SHIELD Base Triptych as Coulson reached up to tap the earpiece he had in. "Yeah, we're going to have to kill the fish tank."

****

When everything was finished and they'd been given leave for the night, he returned to his bunk.

They'd been offered rooms at Triptych, and Coulson, FitzSimmons and Skye had agreed, wanting to show Skye one of the smaller SHIELD bases, while he and May decided to stay with their rooms on 'The Bus'. May wanted to look over the repairs being made to 'The Bus', and he had an IM to make.

In his bunk, he made sure the door was locked before spraying a nozzle in the air and shining a flashlight in it, then digging out a golden drachma and tossing it into the mist, which disappeared in a golden shimmer.

"Oh, Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."

For a couple of seconds, nothing happened. Then he was looking at the sight of Half-Blood Hill, with Chiron looking down.

"Is this a bad time?"

Chiron whirled around, about to draw his bow when he saw Ward, and visibly relaxed.

"Grant," he greeted. "How're you doing?"

"Fine," he replied, "If you exclude the fact that I got shot and nearly sucked out of an airplane. Or the fact that I got tossed up a whole floor and slammed into a wall. Otherwise, I'm good. You?"

"Doing great. Lots of campers as usual. What do you need?"

"Well... You know how in this job, we sometimes find unusual things."

"Yes."

"I found something today. It's made of Stygian Ice and fueled by an alien source and when activated fires a plasma particle beam. It may have been made by a child of Hades. The craftsmanship's German. Have you ever heard of it? Or did you swear on the River Styx to never speak of it?"

He laughed. "I haven't sworn upon the River Styx. As for the object, I have never heard of it. What is this alien source you're talking about?"

"A year ago, aliens rained down New York," he explained. "There was a blue cube called the Tesseract. It creates wormholes leading to different places. The object is fueled by tesseract technology."

"Mmm... I definitely haven't heard of it. Is there any chance you can get it to me?"

"Well, it's Slingshot Protocol to launch it into space, where it'll be taken to the Sun, where no one can ever get their hands on it. So unless I get a spaceship... No, I can't get it for you."

"Alright. Well take care of yourself, and don't die."

He smiled. "Got it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I got this to the point of the Iris Message part, and then me being stupid, accidentally closed the tab, and of course, I forgot to save it as a draft, and since this doesn't auto-save, I got the whole chapter deleted. Hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> -Violet1309


	4. The Asset

**Chapter 4- The Asset**

****

"You know you're late."

Skye hopped down the stairs to the makeshift training room in the cargo hold.

"I'm tired from this morning's workout," she complained. "I thought I was joining SHIELD, not 24-hour fitness." She went in front of the punching bag.

"It's called relatives strength training," he corrected. When would she start taking this seriously? "Starting with the basics. This is nothing compared to how I was trained. I almost died multiple times during my training. Next time you'll do fifteen push-ups for every minute you're late."

"Fine, Mr. Fun Machine. Better than pull-ups. I don't _ever_ want to do pull-ups ever again."

"You find yourself hanging down from a building twenty stories up, you're going to want to at least do one."

He bent his knees slightly and raised his fists in front of him. "Stand here. Jab cross, like this." He demonstrated, punching the bag and then holding it still. "Ten minutes."

She copied his stance and hit the bag, trying to keep it steady.

"You know the hardest thing about boxing?"

"Getting punched in the face?" she snarked.

"Keeping your hands up."

"Why do we even have to do this?" she complained. "I'm sure FitzSimmons's supervising officer didn't make them do this muscle stuff."

"You said you wanted to be a field agent, like Coulson. This 'muscle stuff' is going to keep you alive in the field. But, if you'd like to switch disciplines... Hey Simmons." He got the English scientist's attention. "What did your SO give you guys for morning drills?"

"Oh, atomistic attribute drills," she replied. "Yeah, we'd name the mechanical, chemical, thermal-"

"-electrical properties of materials," Fitz finished.

"Okay, okay," Skye said, "They made your point."

He went over to her and held the bag. "There will come a moment where you'll have to commit to this or bail. Every field agent has a defining moment. Ask Coulson. When you have to make the hard call. To either dedicate yourself to this or to curl up in a ball and run."

"How can you run if you're curled up in a ball?"

"Would you prefer 'curl up in a ball and roll'?" He took her hands and positioned them higher. "It's my job as your SO to make sure you don't die before then. Come on." He moved back to his previous position.

"So what was yours, Agent Ward? Your defining moment?"

He bit his lip. His defining moment. Either protecting his younger cousin by his older cousin, being on the run or his time at Camp Half-Blood. There was no way he was telling her anything but the first.

"Do this properly, and then I'll consider telling you."

"Come on, I want to know!" When he didn't answer, she continued. "I could get Coulson to give you some of that truth serum. You could spill your heart out to me again."

He raised an eyebrow. "You mean my level one overshare that miraculously got you to cooperate? I hate to tell you this Rookie, but I only told you the things I wanted you to know."

As soon as he finished talking, May's voice came over the intercom. "Changing course. Briefing in three."

****

"A few minutes ago a SHIELD transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off route 76 near Sterling," Coulson said, as he and Skye entered the lounge, where the briefing was taking place.

"Priority red?" Simmons asked.

Coulson tapped a couple of times at the tablet he held in his hand and turned it around, revealing a SHIELD file. "The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall known for his work-"

"Oh, no," Simmons interrupted. "Not Frank."

"Doctor Hall?" Fitz asked. "He was our chemical kinetics advisor our second year."

"Yeah, he's so enthusiastic about the science we just adored him. We can rescue him, can't we?"

"He's one of ours," Coulson replied. "We're gonna try."

"And the attackers?" Ward questioned.

"Invisible."

Skye's eyes widened. "Wait. _Invisible_." She opened her mouth in amazement. "Cool."

He looked at her in exasperation. It sounded cool, sure when you start but was the type of attackers you did not want. All it did was make things harder.

"But terrible," she hastily added at his expression.

****

"Dr. Hall was an asset?" Skye asked as they headed down a road towards the attack site.

"One of a few select scientists SHIELD has been protecting," Coulson explained. "People our enemies would love to get their hands on. We keep them hidden, keep them on the move."

"Which is why Fitz and I were so lucky to have him," Simmons interjected.

"We don't have him anymore," Coulson said darkly.

"And what does priority red mean?"

"It means security should have been-" They stopped as a silhouette of an SUV was shown in a tree. "Heavy."

****

"It was pretty damn scary," the man who had been driving the truck that held Hall said. "And I don't spook easily, boss."

"Nothing in the air from above?" May interrogated.

"Nothing over our shoulder. But what's scary is they knew our route. They were waiting for us."

"You're saying they were working for somebody from the inside?" Coulson asked.

"I hate to say it, but it's the only way."

Someone from the inside. Who would tell the attackers? Who even _were_ the attackers?

"Fitz, what am I seeing here?"

Simmons's voice brought Coulson out of his musings as he turned his attention to Simmons and walked over.

"Well," Fitz began, annoyed. "I'm not wearing the full spectrum goggles I designed so... No clue. Let me have a look." Everyone on the team began coming over.

"No, woah, woah, woah! Wait! Don't move." Simmons dropped the thing she was holding as she held Fitz back. "Wait a second." She picked up some sand on the ground and tossed it in the air, where it stayed in the air, floating around like a miniature tornado.

"What the hell?" Skye asked.

Simmons shook her head in amazement. "I think the electro-static field scanner activated some... Thing."

The sand went over to them violently, and they ducked to avoid getting hit.

"Okay. Can we deactivate it?" Coulson asked. "Like, now?"

The sand swooped over to them once again.

"Have to increase the density!"

"I tried, Fitz but-"

Fitz yanked a remote off of her hands, pressed a few buttons, and then the sand plummeted to the ground.

Simmons bent down, picked a small device up with a pair of tweezers and handed it to him.

The device was small- no bigger than a strawberry but was quite powerful. It had two rings that crossed each other, with a small dot in the middle. If it's what he thinks it is, then they're in for some serious trouble.

"What _is_ that?"

"Something big."

****

Barnroof Point, Colorado

From his spot in the trees, he waits patiently as Coulson and the suspect, a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, talk.

He listens to their conversation.

"Who the hell are you?"

"A concerned citizen who happens to be a member of a giant bureaucratic organization that's tracking your every move."

"I haven't done anything wrong."

He rolls his eyes. That's what everyone says. And what kind of person rides a horse?

"Of course not. But you sold your excavator to some people who did, and you're hiding out here until things cool down because you know it. I just want to know who paid you."

He heard the sound of a rifle being drawn. "Paid me enough to not answer any questions like that."

And then he struck.

He charged out of the woods and pulled the rifle out of his hands, making fall off, then dug the butt of the rifle into his shoulder, aiming it at the man.

"Feels like the Old West," he commented as Coulson came over.

"They gave me money for my equipment," he said hastily. People always cracked when threatened with their life. "That's all. I never saw a face, never heard a name."

"And how did you receive this money?" Coulson interrogated. "They write you a check?"

He pointed to the bag on the horse.

Keeping the rifle trained on the man, he opened the bag and dumped the contents on the ground. Gold bars.

He looked at Coulson incredulously. "Now it really feels like the Old West."

****

"It looks like this because it's a doré bar," Simmons explained.

They were in the lab, and FitzSimmons were checking the gold and tracing the source.

"It means it was made at a mine rather than a refinery. It's only about 92% pure. The cowboy got cheated a bit."

"Can you determine the mine based on the impurities?" Coulson asked. They really needed to find the kidnapper.

"Already done." Fitz went to the computer and tapped on the keyboard. "It's from the... Dacey Mine in Tanzania." He leant back in the chair. "Which is owned by-"

"Quinn Worldwide." Coulson nodded. "I'm sure you studied the CEO in your chemical engineering classes or saw him on the cover of Forbes." He started to walk out of the lab. "Ian Quinn."

****

"The man's a prisoner, and it's up to us to get it out," Coulson explained.

They were now in the briefing room with everyone present, and Coulson was explaining the mission.

"We checked the specs. There's no way into Quinn's compound without a large SHIELD strike force or a man inside." Ward paced up and down. "He's got neodymium laser fencing surrounding his property."

"They'll never allow a strike force into Malta," Coulson replied. "Plus, this weekend, Quinn Worldwide's got it's annual shareholder's gathering. We'd risk global outrage, but..."

"If we go in alone," May interjected.

"SHIELD can disavow us, claim ignorance."

"Without a man inside, it's impossible, unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions," May finished.

"If we had a monkey, we could get in-" 

Ward fought the urge to roll his eyes. What was with his obsession with monkeys?

Simmons seemed to feel the same way. "Oh, Fitz!" she exclaimed, frustrated.

"If we had a small monkey," Fitz continued as if no one had interrupted him, "He could slip through the sensors and disable fence's power source with his adorable little hands."

"I could go in," Skye suggested, leaning on the wall and typing something on her phone.

"Drop me in the hills outside of Valetta. I'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover, gathering intel," he suggested. There was no way he was going to allow Skye to go.

"Hall doesn't have a few weeks," Coulson interjected.

"And to restate," Simmons said, "any agent of SHIELD caught on Malta soil can be shot to death with bullets."

"Yeah." Fitz nodded.

"Legally."

"Not me." Skye straightened up. "I could go in."

His eyes widened and he turned to look at her. "Skye, this is serious."

"Wait," Coulson said, "What are you saying?"

He looked at Coulson. Was he actually allowing Skye to go on a potential suicide mission with little to no training?

"Well, I'm not an agent of SHIELD," she explained, "So I could go in without breaking all these stupid rules." She continued typing on her phone.

"International laws," Simmons corrected.

"This isn't something the Rising Tide can hack, Skye," he protested.

"Did you hear the part of the deadly lasers?" Fitz asked, rubbing his temples. "Without a brave monkey-"

"You said you could go in with a man inside."

"And you want to be that man?" May asked.

"FitzSimmons loved the guy," she began, and he immediately knew there was no convincing her otherwise. She had FitzSimmons hooked. "and he needs help. They could be torturing him or worse, making him do strength training." 

Ignoring her jab at him, he tried to convince her not to take the mission. "But you don't have the background or clearance or experience with any of this."

"I know," she replied, and he lets loose an exasperated sigh. Yes, maybe she could handle herself but he didn't want to take risks. She shows them the screen of her phone. "But I've got an invitation. Well, technically it's an Evite."

Looks like there's no talking her out of this.

****

"I understand your concern," Coulson said as he picked a suit from his wardrobe (why did the man have so many when they all looked the same?). "But we don't have a lot of options."

"Hey, I'm impressed," he said. "She wrangled an invitation on her phone using an encrypted backchannel in minutes. But sending her in with no training? You're taking a huge risk." Coulson walked back into his office as Ward was forced to follow him. "I know Director Fury felt he owed after you sacrificed yourself-"

"And my card collection," Coulson grumbled.

He rolled his eyes. Why did he care about a card collection?

"He gave you some autonomy. But Skye on a covert op?"

"Are you worried about her safety or loyalty?" Coulson rummaged through a shelf.

"Both," he lied. Her loyalty hadn't occurred to him until Coulson said it, and he realizes that he doesn't care about her loyalty- all he wants is for her to stay safe. "The Rising Tide's the reason she got an invite. Who knows how many protocols she violated."

Coulson looked up from the binder he was flipping through. "That's her job- ignore protocol, find connections and backdoors that no one else can see. Something else is bothering you."

He sighed. "She's holding back, Sir. She says she wants to be an agent, but she won't commit. She doesn't listen, makes jokes."

"Were you hard on her?"

"What? No. I need a new strategy."

He closed the binder. "Try no strategy. Stop thinking like an operative, start thinking like a person."

Ward rolled his eyes. "I am thinking like a person," he muttered.

"Maybe Skye will let that person help her," he continued, not hearing what he said.

"To do what?"

"Think like an operative."

****

"Now again, slowly, what's first?" he asked, aiming the fake gun at Skye. She twists his arm, grabs his wrist and bumps into his chest. So far, she's doing fine.

"And then?" He waits for her reaction, trying to focus on the training.

"Then, things are moving too quickly. I'm a proper southern girl, you'll make me untidy," she replies while he sighs. Of course, she would find a way to avoid the current situation. "Twist the thumb, palm the barrel." He guided her hands a little harsher than he should've.

"Ow." She wrung her hand, taking a few steps back.

"You're going to die and leave us out to dry, you know that?" He took a few steps closer to her. Maybe he was being a little too overprotective. "You're going in with no self-defence skills-"

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," she countered. 

"You need muscle memory," he said, taking a few steps closer, "fundamentals. The tools to turn yourself-"

"Into a whole bag of tools?"

He looked at her, annoyed. "How did you learn CS without committing yourself to it?"

She shook her head. "CS comes naturally to me. I'm sorry I'm not naturally whatever you are."

He stared at her, appalled. She thought this came naturally? He tried to protect Thomas from Christian. Then he went on the run for four years so that the monsters would leave Thomas alone, and tried not to die. Then there was the second Titan War and after that, he got dragged onto the Argo II, all while still training under Nat in SHIELD.

"You think this came naturally? I had a cousin who beat the crap out of me. Me and my little cousin. For nothing. For eating a piece of his birthday cake. I had to learn to protect us, the way I am trying to protect you. That was my moment. You asked."

She looked like she was about to cry. "Sorry. Didn't mean to push. But..." She held up the fake gun. "I did manage to take this."

He smiled and took the gun from her. "Getting the gun is one thing." He backed up, resuming his previous training position. "Pulling the trigger- that is another. Now again, slowly, what's first?"

****

"Skye will walk through the front door," Coulson said, tapping on the tablet, changing the screen in the briefing room. "The only external exit point to Quinn's underground facility is from a beach cove. A two-man extraction team could slip in there, but it's not easy. FitzSimmons."

Fitz stepped forward. "The perimeter is surrounded by a 20-foot high neodymium laser grid. Touch it and you're toast."

"Dead toast," Coulson clarified.

Ward bit his tongue to prevent the snort that was threatening to escape.

"The only way to disable the grid is to crack system and trigger a reboot. This would give the team three seconds to cross. Of course, Quinn's too smart to allow any wireless access on his property."

"That's where I come in," Skye said.

"Yes." Simmons opened the case. "Working compact- holds up under x-ray."

Fitz took it out of the case. "Desert rose to match your complexion. But- oh, what's this? A readout. Turns green if you're close enough proximity to a computer to gain wireless access."

"When it does, you just drop this nearby and walk out," Simmons added. "We'll do the rest. Easy as pie."

He looked at them. Great. They've already jinxed it. He's more than certain that something will go wrong. "Don't ever say that."

"Say what?" Simmons asked.

"That it's easy. I can't count how many times I've said that and something goes wrong."

"Got it," Skye said. "Don't jinx it. Just stick to the plan, green, drop, walk, pie."

He nodded and headed to the corner and gather his stuff. More than likely that Coulson wanted him on the two-man team.

****

Getting into Quinn's compound was more complicated then they anticipated.

After nearly getting shot several times, the system rebooted, signifying that Skye had succeeded, and he couldn't help but feel proud. It took a while, but hey, she still managed it.

All he had to do now was to find her. He started searching the whole compound as stealthily as he could when he heard the sound of footsteps. He followed the sound running out where two men were holding Skye, and another was advancing on her.

He ran up to the man and punched him in the face, making him fall on his knee, then kicked upwards, and punched him in the face again as a man came behind him and kicked him behind his legs. Acting on instinct, he shoved his elbow upwards, breaking his nose. He turned around to block the third man's hit and punching him in the face.

Skye ran up to him and hugged him like he was the safest thing in the world. He had a moment of alarm, wondering what happened that would have made the usually confident girl shake so badly. "You okay?"

She nodded vigorously.

"Okay." He held a hand up. "Just follow my orders. I'll get us out of here."

He grabbed her hand and led her off to find Coulson.

After the team had secured the compound, Coulson suggested that he and Skye head back to 'The Bus', an order he knew Skye was content to follow. The two of them walked down the beach where 'The Bus' had landed. For once, Skye was silent.

"Hey. You did good back there," he said softly, tilting his head to indicate the compound behind them. It had been a long time since he had given out praise, but when he did, he meant it. 

She scoffed. "Are you kidding? I got caught! He nearly shot me! And then his guards almost caught me and you had to swoop in! How does that qualify as doing well?"

He looked at her, surprised. He was expecting her to crack a joke and laugh it off, pretend that she handled it just fine. He'd hung out with her long enough to know her defence mechanisms- joke around, pretend nothing was wrong. _Humour was a good way to hide the pain._ He was familiar with that saying. "You're being too hard on yourself. I was worse when I first went face to face with danger. You kept a level head, got us into the compound, got away when your cover was blown, and held off long enough for me to help, all while having barely any experience or skills. Everyone has to start somewhere. Do you think people like Romanoff are perfect at these things from the start? Thanks to you, we got to the Gravitonium before it could become a threat."

Skye halted abruptly and turned to face him. "When Quinn's men had me, I was more afraid than I've ever been in my life. I didn't know how I was going to get out of it. Then you came and saved me. No one's ever done that for me before." She placed a hand on his arm. "I'm grateful for that. Really."

He smiled. "You don't have to be. We're SHIELD. It's in our job description. Why do you think the name's 'shield'?"

She gaped at him. "You're kidding." She let out a disbelieving laugh. "Cool."

"That's the principle SHIELD was founded on," he explained. "Protection. Protecting people who can't protect themselves. It's all I've ever tried to do," he added. He glanced down, then back up. "Even if sometimes it doesn't work out. But... Guess you can't protect everyone."

She nodded. "At least you try. Better than the other organizations that only act out of greed. All I know is that I never want to feel that way again." She turned and walked into the plane.

He stared blankly at her as she climbed up the stairs. What was she talking about? Coulson wasn't going to be happy if she wanted out.

He did his usual end-of-mission routine. Shower, have a snack, then do the required paperwork. The paperwork was a huge drag- due to the letters swimming off the page, but he found that laying it off didn't get it done faster. At least if he did it now, he would be free to do whatever he wanted. As a result, he didn't see Skye all night. He assumed she had just gone to bed, but as he was about to turn in, he heard quiet thumps- the sound of someone training. He knew that May trained early in the morning, Coulson was on a secure call, and FitzSimmons had no reason to train, so it had to be Skye.

He'd seen it before- the dedication that a troubling traumatic experience induced, and he realized what she had meant earlier. She didn't want out- she never wants to feel helpless again. She was surprised she was responding this way. Other than their talk on the way back, he'd never seen her so serious. His first instinct was to leave her alone- some people didn't like to be interrupted during training, but his curiosity got the best of him, and he slowly headed down the stairs, stopping at the last two steps.

"Where'd you grow up?" she asked, not stopping her workout.

He raised an eyebrow. Why would she care about his history? Most people didn't. Of course, she wasn't like most people. He couldn't tell her much, but hey, it's nice to tell someone every once in a while.

"For a while, Manhattan," he replied, not hesitating. "Then Massachusetts." 

"Why'd you move?"

He sighed. He really wished he didn't have to answer. This was where the lies started. "I never knew my mom- was told she died in a house fire. Then, when I was nine my father was murdered. He was a soldier, a war hero. He had many friends, but he also made a lot of enemies. After he died, I got put in my aunt's and uncle's care. Worst three years of my life." 

"Three years?"

"I ran when I was twelve. The enemies of my father, they started coming after me. They attacked, we argued. Eventually, I got the message. I wasn't welcomed there. Besides, it was the only way to protect Thomas- my little cousin."

She nodded. "That sounds hard."

"The hardest decision I've ever made."

"Before you ran, did you live in a house?"

He was caught by surprise. Who asked that kind of question? Unless...

"You didn't?"

The question got her attention long enough to stop punching. "One house," she admitted, looking straight at him, then back down. She moved away from the bag, towards her water bottle. Clearly she planned on continuing the conversation, so he hopped down the remaining two steps. He didn't want to keep her from talking, so he just leaned on the staircase.

Skye had her back to him as she adjusted the tape on her hands and drank her water. He knew this trick well. You kept your back to someone when telling them difficult secrets. That way they couldn't see your expression, and you couldn't see theirs.

"The Brodys. I was nine. Sent me back to St. Agnes after a month. Said I wasn't a good fit."

"Foster parents," he said knowingly. He understood the feeling. In a way, his aunt and uncle were like foster parents. He knew the desire to want to fit in, to be wanted, only to be rejected. "Your first?"

"My third."

He carefully kept his face blank. If she saw any emotion she didn't like, she would shut down and refuse to talk about it. He took a couple of steps forward, wanting to bring her some comfort in his presence while keeping some distance so she wouldn't get startled.

"I had heard it before, but... This one was different." She adjusted her tape.

"'Cause you wanted them to like you," he concluded grimly.

She nodded. "Bad. I called her 'Mom' once. Tried it out. Guess I wasn't a good fit." She resumed her stance in front of the bag and began hitting it again.

He looked at her, fully understanding her. His father had died a long time ago, and even though he could talk to his godly parent more often than the average demigod, he still didn't know her that well. Gods could change easily, to be whatever they wanted to be. But they also had responsibilities. They couldn't talk to them whenever they wanted to, or act like normal parents.

"Hoping for something and losing it hurts more than never hoping for anything," she finished bitterly.

He leant forward and grabbed the bag. "We won't turn our backs."

"Doesn't matter." She started punching harder. "I made my choice. I want this. Bad. And I know there's a truth serum."

He chuckled. "I never said there wasn't. But whatever makes you happy, Rookie." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter gave some insight on Ward's past. In the show, I'm pretty sure his parents were cruel, and I didn't like it so I changed it a bit. I based the reasons for him running away on Annabeth's reasons. I don't think it makes sense if his father was cruel to him for monster attacks since he's also a demigod, so I changed it up so his father died early on.
> 
> -Violet1309


	5. Eye Spy

**Chapter 5- Eye Spy**

****

Training Skye was almost as fun as frustrating.

She extremely resistant to any type of strength training, but she was a whiz on computers and strategy. He was almost certain she could best Nat in CS. She was also hilarious, and it often took all of his training to not burst into laughter. They wouldn't get anywhere if he was laughing all the time, so he restrained himself from laughing, letting loose a smile or a chuckle ever now and then. Her lack of focus also made it extremely frustrating, since he wanted her to become a good agent.

Take weapons training for an example. Skye seemed to think that shooting a gun was some kind of joke. Sure, FitzSimmons's 'Night-night gun' made it a lot less deadly (he didn't care what Fitz said, there's no way they're calling it that humiliating name), but didn't she understand that knowing how to shoot a gun could mean a difference between life and death? What did she expect to happen when he wasn't there to protect the rest of the team?

One morning, he might have just torn his hair out. Skye had hit the magazine release instead of the safety release five times in a row. Then, when he decided to switch it up and instruct her on the actual pulling of the trigger, she kept saying 'bang!', with a big smile on her face. At first, he wanted to laugh but after several times of her ignoring his instructions, he finally lost his patience.

"What do I have to do to get you to take this seriously?"

She quickly dropped her smile and shrugged. "Sorry. I just don't see myself doing much shooting. You and May are great at shooting, and FitzSimmons and I are just providing backup. Besides, I don't know if I could even do it. I mean, what if I hurt someone?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's the _whole_ point. What would you do if someone was trying to kill you?"

"I'd do what I did in Peru and Malta: run and count on you to save me," she replied innocently. He fought the urge to groan. Obviously, she thought that saving people was his 'thing', and was using it to get out of training. Sure, she was more devoted to the cause than before, but he needed her to be completely devoted.

"What if I'm not there?" Ward asked in an exasperated tone. Sometimes she was naive. "I know you think I'm a robot, but even robots can't be in two places at once. You need to be able to protect yourself."

"Look, I get that you're worried about me, and I appreciate that, but I don't think you need to worry about it. My skill is CS, so I'm not going to be on the front lines. FitzSimmons aren't cleared for combat. I just don't get why I need to be."

He huffed out a breath of impatience. "Even if you're not going to be on the front lines, there's still a high possibility you'll get hurt. In the field, you need to be prepared for every possibility."

She shrugged. "I just don't see me doing anything physically. Really, do see me doing that?"

At that, he threw his hands up in exasperation and walked away disgustedly. "You're impossible." Sometimes she was a bit thick-headed. He'd try again tomorrow. He passed Coulson on his way up and noted that he didn't look as frustrated with Skye as he was. Maybe he was making this into too big of a deal. Maybe she would just be strategic support.

****

Their most recent mission in Belarus seemed to prove Skye's point of not needing to be prepared for combat. Coulson was very reassuring to the rest of the team (except May, who was running things from 'The Bus') that they were to provide support only; they didn't even need to leave the van.

As he drove for the 'Short Bus' mission (Coulson didn't like the name, but he found it hilarious), he listened with amusement as FitzSimmons spoke, only understanding half of what was coming out of their mouths. Although sometimes it was annoying to listen to, at times he appreciated how the two of them spoke with harmony. Would he ever have someone that understood him as much as FitzSimmons understood each other?

Ward went with Coulson into the village to track down Akela Amador. He was enjoying the time spent with just the two of them; it was rare that they ever were alone with each other, and even more rare that they weren't at odds with each other. He didn't care that Coulson didn't hold him in high regard as he did with May, Skye, and apparently Amador- he was content with it. He just wished he trusted him. Sure, his secrecy and the high-level clearance that was required to access his full file didn't help- he was pretty sure Fury didn't trust him at all, but why couldn't the man just trust him a little bit? 

"I can only imagine how hard this must be for you, Sir. Betrayed by someone you trained and believed in," he began. If he ever found out about the secret he's keeping, would he see it as a betrayal? Would he ever trust him if he knew he had once escaped from three of SHIELD's secure prisons?

Coulson seemed annoyed by this. "We don't have all the facts yet."

"True, but I have to assume the worst. That Amador sold out the other two agents on her mission. Wonder what she got in exchange."

"I don't know. But until we do, I'm not going to assume anything," Coulson replied shortly as he walked away. He stood there, looking at him for a minute. He was impressed. The man was beyond loyal and stubborn. He saw the good in people and would fight to ensure fair treatment for them. He used to do that. What was wrong with him?

Things weren't looking so good when the phone rang. The search seemed to lead to nowhere. He and technology didn't mix, but he'd have to risk it and hope that they found something.

"Did you locate Amador?" he asked once he had picked up.

_"What? No, not yet. But we've found a broadcast with some weird signal encrypted into it."_

"You think Amador might be communicating through that signal?"

_"Maybe, but I called with an equally pressing question for you, my SO. What are we supposed to do if we had to pee?"_

He glanced at Coulson. "You broke protocol because you needed a bathroom break?" He was slightly amused. She just can't stop surprising him, can she?

 _"It was a really, really long drive, and everyone's nervous,"_ she replied, her voice deadly serious.

He sighed. They weren't going to like his answer. He wasn't sure if _he_ was okay with it. "There's a container in the bottom of the blue chest."

There was a long pause, indicating that she or FitzSimmons were probably searching for it. _"Not the water bottle?"_

He almost wanted to laugh, but he figured that would set her off, so he settled on a smirk. "That's the one," he replied, wanting to annoy her.

_"Did you never learn the thing where boy parts and girl parts are different, and our parts aren't penises?"_

She was definitely upset now if she wasn't before. He smothered the snort that came out. "Unless you want to get out of the van and pee in the ditch, I suggest you use it. Agent Coulson and I are trying to find a dangerous criminal. If there's nothing else pressing-"

_"-Well listen. Fitz wants to know if you packed any snacks."_

He rolled his eyes. Did the young engineer _ever_ stop eating? "No, I didn't," he replied. "If there's nothing else pressing, I'll be hanging up." With that, he hung up.

****

"Try contacting the team to see if they've found anything," Coulson ordered after an hour of talking to landlords and shop owners, some (like the woman with the tumour) who had seen her, but none knew her current whereabouts. "I'm going to talk to one more person," he announced heading into one last shop.

He took out his phone and realized that he hadn't heard anything from the Three Stooges (as he internally labelled them after the bathroom call) in over an hour. That seemed wrong. The phone rang ten times without an answer and he felt a feeling of dread. Why weren't they answering? They knew the protocol by heart, and it didn't include not checking in. As silly as they were, they would never be stupid enough to stray away from communications. He quickly called May. "Have you heard from Skye and FitzSimmons?"

 _"No. Haven't you?"_ Typical May. Short and sweet.

"No, not for over an hour. Can you try them?"

There was a brief moment of silence. _"They're not answering. I'll retask the satellites and see if I can find them."_ There was a pause and May's voice adopted a grim edge. _"Found them. The van's lying in a ditch. You and Coulson need to get there now."_

Ward felt as if his heart stopped for a moment. Then, coming to his senses, he hung up and barged into the store to find Coulson. "Sir! Something's wrong with the team. They need our help." Without waiting for him to reply, he took off running in the direction of the van. He was aware that he was running far faster than humanly possible, but he didn't care. Something had happened to the team, and he wasn't there to help. There rarely was a front line anymore. The field _was_ the front line.

As he ran down the tree-lined street, he saw the overturned van with a crowd surrounding it. To the side, he noted that FitzSimmons were sitting on the ground, leaning on each other underneath a tree. He saw a man helping Skye out of the van, and she appeared to be making her laugh. He stopped running once he got to the edge of the ditch. A minute later, he heard Coulson run-up to him. "Looks like they're okay, Sir," he reported, glad to say it out loud.

Coulson nodded, satisfied. "You run fast," he replied, still out of breath.

In turns out, that after a little help from the townsfolk, that the van was still operational after they were able to set it right side up. It was humiliating but better than trying to find a new ride. On the ride back to the Bus, Coulson turned around to Skye and FitzSimmons. "Okay. What happened?"

"It was Amador, Sir," Skye began. He listened as she explained how they'd figured out it was her, and then how she rammed the truck into the van to escape. He felt a brief moment of fury. She attacked the team! It was a miracle they got out with no injuries. They could've been injured, or worse, killed.

As the group came on the Bus, he saw May standing at the railing. He could tell from her cold stare that she, too was upset about Amador's actions. He breathed a little easier, knowing that she would agree with him. He thought for sure that Coulson would be upset, too. How could he not? But once again, Coulson surprised him by not writing her off completely. He almost lost it.

"Sir, Amador attacked you and your people," he snarled, barely reigning his anger in. He often had a reputation for being gentle and kind, but once someone he cared about was hurt. he often had an issue in reigning himself in. He wasn't particularly fond of it, but it was the truth. "Whatever regard you hold for her isn’t reciprocated. She just kicked us in the teeth.”

Coulson looked unaffected. Ward just couldn't understand his calm attitude.

Instead of replying directly, he simply asked, "How's the team?" He seemed unaffected by his attitude or the day's events.

“Rattled. No broken bones. We’re lucky she just knocked the van over so she could getaway. Probably take a while for our folks to refocus,” he replied firmly.

None of the team had a Specialist's skill to stay on task. Given the nature of their work, Specialists had to be like a dog- once they grabbed hold of something, it was hard to make them let go. But support staff weren't like that. They were easily distracted and needed the right environment to get anything done. Chances are, Amador's already long gone.

Wouldn't you know, at that exact moment, Skye proved him wrong. She poked her head into Mission Control and proceeded to tell them that she could probably recover the data signature of the encrypted broadcast. He was a little puzzled and impressed. Up until this point, Skye's concentration constantly wandered. He knew she was good with technology, and he had yet to see her full extent of her skill, but she was no doubt, very skilled at what she does.

An hour later, the whole team stood in front of the screen in the lab as they watched Amador watched herself in the mirror and used tools to adjust her eye. Everyone flinched; Fitz went far enough to close his eyes.

"It's her eye," May realized. "She's the camera!" Everyone watched in amazed silence as the feed turned from colour to black and white.

"It switches to backscatter when she closes her eye," Fitz explained.

Skye turned to him. "You're a robot. Can you do that?"

He internally sighed. When would she give it a rest? It was flattering and amusing at the start, but it soon turned insulting. Did she really think he didn't have emotions? She had no idea how much he wanted to smile, joke around, and act like he usually did at Camp. He turned, and asked Fitz, "Who has tech like this?"

He stood silently as FitzSimmons went on to talk about how ingenious the technology was and far ahead it is from anything he's ever seen. He admitted that they were admirable once they got going, and seemed as if they shared the same brain. They were way stronger than he originally thought. Based on what he was seeing, he'd say that the science twins had shaken off the accident like nothing, and kept going. Brilliant.

Coulson and May started debating whether Amador should be brought in or taken out. He desperately wanted to weigh in with his own opinions, but he knew he had to keep quiet. Besides, May was making her point quite clearly. 

"She's a weapon," she told Coulson angrily. "You are protecting her at the expense of this team."

"Because we protect our own," Coulson affirmed calmly. 

He nodded. They both had good points. Coulson protecting Amador could indeed lead to their deaths, but he also felt obliged to protect her, seeing as how he had taught her. Just then, Skye pointed out that she was asking for permission to sleep and the situation promptly changed.

"She's not being watched," Coulson realized. "She's being controlled. We have to find her. We'll take shifts watching the feed. Sooner or later, she'll look at something that will clue us into her location." Just like that, all of the objections were dropped and they worked seamlessly again. May volunteered to take the first shift and the rest of them set up a schedule, then went to bed.

****

Despite everything, things quickly went wrong. May went off book and Coulson quickly woke him up to explain what had happened before leaving to chase after May and Amador. "Be ready for anything!" he told him as he went out the door.

Ward had barely gotten any sleep, but he forced himself to become alert by the judicious use of coffee and exercise. He checked in with FitzSimmons to monitor their progress and kept a close eye on Amador's feed. He got a bit tense during May and Amador's fight, but he had enough faith in May's ability to make a tactical plan before the fight was over. After all, May was 'The Cavalry'. Not that she'd be happy to hear him say that. Thus, he was ready when Coulson called him to talk about the plan.

He waited as long as he could to give Skye as much rest as possible, but before the sun rose, he knocked on her bunk's door and entered. "Skye, wake up. Coulson has a mission for us." He stood awkwardly beside her bed, wishing the bunks were larger. This felt extremely close and intimate.

She immediately sat up and looked at him, rubbing her eyes. "Do you have to be so tall?" She glanced out the open window. "It's not even morning yet!"

He tried not to smile but failed, as his lip twitched. She was extremely cute when she first woke up. "I tried to let you sleep as long as I could. Coulson has a mission for us."

Despite being sleepy and grumpy (his desire to smile had not gone unnoticed by her), her eyes lit up. "Us, as in you and me?" She was undoubtedly very excited.

"Yes. Coulson found Amador and has her under lockdown in the Cage. FitzSimmons have been up all night creating a pair of glasses that'll allow me to access Amador's feed and fool them into thinking I'm her. I have to complete her mission and you're coming for backup with the computer feed," he explained swiftly. "You can do this?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I can. I'm the one who actually found the feed, remember? You'd think a robot would remember these things. When do we leave?"

He sighed. "Can you give it a rest? I asked because I wanted to make sure you were up to this. We're leaving right now. You'll have to finish setting up the monitoring feed for the glasses on the way to the building. Check-in with FitzSimmons, get your stuff and meet me in the car outside."

Neither Ward nor Skye spoke much during the drive to the building. Skye spent her time working on the monitor while he thought about the oncoming mission and generally worried. He wasn't stressed about his role in this mission- he was way too experienced for that. No, he was concerned about Skye. She was out in the field way too soon. She just got rammed by Amador. If something went wrong, he wouldn't be able to protect her.

He eased the car into the parking lot and Skye finally lifted her eyes from the laptop. "Where are we?"

"Todorov building," he replied, leaning forward to visually examine the building. He internally sighed at Skye's inexperience. The location of the place didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was what they were going to do, and so knowing the official name hardly mattered. "I think it's research, not military."

"Looks like a prison," she commented.

He refocused back on the mission. "We wireless yet?" he asked quickly.

"Yes," she responded quickly as she leant forward. "Ready to detach." She reached forward to unhook the glasses from the monitor, accidentally brushing her fingers against his ear. He tensed up immediately, twisting to the side, barely restraining himself from looking at her.

"Don't look at me," she ordered as she physically turned his head so he was facing the building. "They need to think you're her. And oh my god, Super Spy is ticklish!" she teased.

The two of them waited in silence as Skye continued to make sure that they were seeing the same thing. The next orders flashed across the bottom of the screen.

"It would suck to live like this," she commented. "Wondering if someone's watching."

Isn't that the truth! Even now, he always felt like someone was watching. Of course, the gods were. Always watching down on everyone. He never wondered if someone was watching- he knew. At least he never had to ask permission to sleep.

But these thoughts weren't going to help with the mission. Pushing the thoughts away, he tapped the side of the glasses. "Testing backscatter."

Skye finished working on the equipment. "Good to go." She handed him his wireless transmitter.

He took it from her hand and briefly felt a shiver as their fingers touched. He didn't feel good leaving her like this. "Remember, I can't look at you, much less help you."

But she didn't seem to be phased at all. "Got it. Don't count on you for help. I'll be watching," she added after he exited the car. Given her comment on how being watched would suck, he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be comforting or ominous.

As he began going through the many levels of security, he decided that Skye watching him was anything but reassuring. He was sure she was trying to 'help', but it felt more like interference. "Hey, remember you have man hands, so don't look when you scan the card," she told him.

He felt annoyed. Did she think this was his first mission? He could handle himself and it irritated him that she seemed to think he couldn't. "I know," he replied in an annoyed yet quiet tone.

But Skye wouldn't stop. "Careful, mirror!" she yelped.

He bent his head to avoid meeting the reflective surface. "Don't need your help."

Eventually, he reached a room in which the screen told him to go. He hid on the wall between the door and the window so the guard wouldn't see him as he waited for his next instructions. Sure enough, the words 'TARGET CONFIRMED. STAND BY.' flashed across the screen.

"What do they mean target?" she pondered.

"It's never good," he replied briskly. "Especially for the target. Let's hope it's a knockout and not a kill." He never liked killing- he hated it, except for the odd monster- that he was okay with. His real concern, however, was that it would be too much for Skye.

True to his word, she said, "You should get out of there!"

He mentally shook his head. She was way too innocent for this line of work. "I've come this far," he reminded her. "I'll finish, whatever it takes." She obviously didn't know what it was like to be a Specialist. He had to be ready for every outcome. This may seem like a risky mission to her, but this was nothing compared to his other missions. The other ones had more firepower and a higher chance of dying. This was just a walk in the park. He peered at the guard as his next instructions filtered in: SEDUCE HIM. He tensed. "Help," he whispered.

"I'm sorry. Did you say help? Because a minute ago you said you didn't want or need my help."

When they finished the mission, he decided he was going to kill Skye. He could swear she was trying not to laugh. "That was before they asked me to go all Mata Hari on this guy." He looked at the guy and considered the chances. "I'm just going to knock him out."

"Ward, wait! We may need him to get to the next door. Remember, it said to seduce, not kill.”

He glanced at the guard again. "I don't think I'm his type," he insisted. Did she realize that he wasn't good with men? Now if it was a woman, he could do. Women were fairly easy for him and he could be charming when he wanted to.

"Let's see," she said as she zeroed in on the guard. "Cheap haircut. Five o’clock shadow. Nope. Odds are you guys play for the same team. You’re going to have to bromance him. Talk sports, vodka, the Victorian Odd Secret catalogue. Be friendly, Agent Ward! Can you be friendly?” She clearly didn’t think he could because she added, “Please don’t die!”

He rolled his eyes before entering the room to the guard, who had stood up to meet him. There was zero chance that he was going to be killed by this bulky man, bromance or not. He did his best, but the guard wasn't answering anything. He'd obviously been chosen for his dull intellect, and he had no choice but to knock him out. He knew Skye would be disappointed, but there really wasn't anything he could do. He doubted Amador could've gotten farther than him.

He stepped over the guard and entered the inner room. Inside the room, two men were typing on typewriters, who looked up when he came in but soon returned to their work. This was odd, but as long as they didn't interfere with his mission, he wasn't going to complain.

"What now? Are you supposed to grab one of those guys?" Skye asked enthusiastically. He almost groaned. While he enjoyed her cheery attitude, you needed to be concentrated at all times and excitement could get you killed.

He walked around the small room, staring curiously at the writing, mathematical equations and algorithms (not that he'd be able to read them anyway) on the blackboard. Finally, on the far end of the room, he noticed something completely different. An entire wall was dedicated to geometrical shapes- circles and interconnecting lines- along with some words in a language he'd never seen before. Much to his surprise, the instructions flashed onto the screen: 'MISSION COMPLETE. GOOD LUCK.' He didn't like the sound of that.

Ward left the room, and to his dismay, saw a ten-second countdown on the guard's desk. He wanted to kick himself for not noticing earlier. "Figured out what I needed the guard for," he told Skye, not bothering to lower his voice, "His password."

"Maybe I can talk you through a hack," Skye replied anxiously. "Just give me a minute."

The countdown went to one. He stood there waiting to see what would happen. He could probably hack it by himself, but Skye probably couldn't hack it in two seconds, so what chance did he have? As soon as the timer reached zero, an alarm started buzzing.

"No more minutes," he told her grimly. Although, all things considered, things could be worse. It could've exploded, or he could've been shot to death. He reached down, grabbing the guard's gun and told Skye, "Meet me on the south side of the building, ASAP," as he started running from the room.

"Gotcha. Which way is south?" He sighed impatiently. He really was going to kill her. Slowly.

He went carefully through the halls of the building, running when he had to and keeping away from people. Fitz bothered him about questions for a while until he saw his reflection and he knew the ploy was done.

"Cut it now. Cut the wires now!" he yelled, a little panicked as he kept moving. "Coming your way," he told Skye.

"I don't know what that means," she replied frustratedly.

He didn't waste time replying. She would either meet him or not- he couldn't do much about it. He shot his way out of a window and ran along with the outer building. He leaped down onto a garbage crate and then directly in front of the car driven by Skye, who looked startled.

He calmly got in the car- like she was picking him up from a long day of work and said, "Let's go."

She took off at top speed.

"Slow down," he instructed her. "They'll be looking for cars speeding away."

She followed his instructions and slowed down.

****

Later, after Amador left the Bus and everyone was enjoying their downtime, Ward and Fitz decided to play poker. It was something they had picked up when he told FitzSimmons about a mission where he had to gain the attention of the target by demonstrating valour at the table. Simmons wanted to know the science behind bluffing, but Fitz had been fascinated by the game itself and wanted him to teach him. At first, he wanted to say no- he couldn't get too close or they'd find out, but he knew Fitz would be upset. Besides, it would be fun to have something else to do.

For someone with such a high IQ, Fitz was terrible at cards and he realized that he was getting frustrated at his constant losses. So when he seemed more eager than usual, he figured something was up. He decided to wait it out, seeing as he and Simmons were remarkably transparent. It would only be a matter of time before he let him know the cause of his excitement.

At first, nothing was unusual. Sure, watching Fitz purposely crunch pretzels was weird and irritating, but he was used to it by now. Seriously, where did he put all the food? He never exercised. But if he thought this would break his concentration, he was sadly mistaken. 

He tapped his cards slowly as Fitz continued eating. "I call." He dropped a couple of chips in the middle. "And raise a hundred."

Fitz smirked and set down the bowl of pretzels. "You know how I know I'm going to beat you?"

His expression didn't change. "By losing?"

"You have a tell. A psychological tic that lets me know you're bluffing," he said.

Ward was careful to keep his face blank, not giving him any sign of what he was thinking.

"If I watch you carefully..." Fitz seemed a little agitated and repeated himself. "If I watch you carefully..." His expression changed abruptly and almost seemed panicked. "I fold. You win," he said as he took off from the table.

He swivelled around to watch Fitz run down the hall, and let out a snort. He cleaned up the cards and tokens and went to put them in his bunk. However, as soon as he finished putting him away, he snuck back to the lounge from the opposite direction in which he had left.

Sure enough, he saw Skye sneak out of her bunk wearing the glasses. She was looking in the direction he had left, so he quietly snuck up to her, leaning on the wall.

"Skye."

He was pleased when she jumped and whirled around to face him. "Ward, you scared me! Are you sure you don't have feline blood in you?"

"Aren't those glasses supposed to be kept in the Lab?" he asked, remaining expressionless. 

"Well, yeah... But... Uh... Fitz wanted to see if we could do more analysis on the range of the glasses and..." Skye stammered. He enjoyed catching her off-guard since she was usually the one catching him by surprise.

"So Fitz was trying to get you to help him cheat at poker," he concluded.

She grimaced. "Damn! There's just no getting anything past you, is there?"

"But if that's what he was doing, then why'd he leave in a hurry?"

She shrugged and smiled mischievously. "I just let him know that if I used the glasses to see your cards, I would also see him without any clothes on. Guess he wasn't too keen on the idea."

He took a couple of seconds to process this. He thought his expression hadn't changed, but it was clear that he hadn't hidden it well. Oh well. He raised an eyebrow. "And?"

She smiled widely. "Well, if this spy stuff doesn't work out, you could always have a productive career as a stripper."

He was speechless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why this took so long. Sure, the episode 'Eye Spy' isn't my favourite, but a chapter used to take approximately one day. Why did this take so long? Anyway, a couple of chapters ago I mentioned I wanted him to also be a Legacy. I was thinking Mars since Hestia is a strictly no violence goddess.
> 
> -Violet1309


	6. The Girl in the Flower Dress

**Chapter 7- The Girl in the Flower Dress**

****

After the 'Eye Spy' mission (they were actually calling it that thanks to Fitz), Skye had taken training more seriously. Sure, she still joked around and made excuses to get out of training, but she also seemed to finally understand the point of getting in shape and learning to shoot. At first, he was confused as to why it was that mission rather than the Malta mission that spurred her resolve to commit. Only later did he realize that she saw that being tech support could still go terribly wrong; that any time in the field she might have to fight for her life or someone else's.

It probably helped that he stopped being so closed off and starting telling them some of his mission stories. He was careful to erase any classified details, though he wished he could tell them about the Argo II. Much to his surprise, Skye seemed fascinated and FitzSimmons would occasionally listen.

He didn't mention it, but the times where they sat together and told stories were his favourite times. Even back in the Acadamy, he was alone. He figured it was the easiest way to not get caught. If you didn't socialize, people would leave you alone, and they wouldn't find out your secrets. He was surprised it worked. He got attached way too easily. He tried to get rid of every partner he was assigned. He talked his way out of every team. After so long of hiding, he was worried he would fail now. Skye used to be a member of the Rising Tide. Coulson searched for answers. May liked to know everything. Sooner or later, he'd get severely hurt and Simmons would insist on giving him a checkup. With them poking around, how long would he be able to keep this up?

****

The next morning, he found him sitting across from Skye, Battleship displays in front of them. Although he maintained a blank face, he was happy. It reminded him of old times, before he knew he was a demigod, and well... Just before all this crazy train wreck of a mess. Despite everything, he felt slightly playful.

He looked at her closely and said in a serious tone, "Every decision you make from here on out has consequences. So be warned. The kiddie gloves are off."

As usual, Skye was unaffected. "G7."

Ward looked down and sighed in resignation. "Hit." He leant forward to mark it on his display.

She made a cheering motion as she said, "Yes! Ha!" She leant forward to grab some of the pretzels off to the side. "So explain to me again what this has to do with my training."

He was tempted to say that it had nothing to do with her training. Instead, he gestured significantly, hoping she would buy it, and said, “It’s important for every SO to evaluate their student’s thought process.” He glanced at her. She wasn't convinced. "And I like board games," he said quickly. "B10."

"Nope. This is stabbing in the dark. But it's nice to take a break from the workouts."

"You deserve a break." He was going to stop there, but Skye looked up with so much surprise and pleasure he decided to keep going. "I got to give Coulson credit. I never would've pegged an ex-Rising Tide hacker as a good fit, but you're picking things up pretty fast."

"Did you just give me a compliment?" She asked, smiling widely.

He paused. They were wading into dangerous territory. While Nat often gave him praise (most likely because she thought it helped), his other instructors at the Academy rarely gave any. Sure, he was already good at it, because he had taught himself, but they simply didn't think that praise would be a good incentive. He knew he tended to work better when pushed to his limit, but he didn't think Skye, an ex-Rising Tide hacker would be able to endure it, so he chose to use praise as a training tool. He was also aware that too much could lead her to get cocky, so he backtracked a little bit.

"I- no, I made a comment," he stammered.

But she wasn't going to let him go that easily. "A kind one," she said as he gestured helplessly in agreement. He wasn't often accused of being kind in SHIELD. Outside of SHIELD, however, that was a different story. "Did it physically hurt to do that?" She leaned forward and said in a serious voice, "Do you need an ice pack?"

At that moment, he knew he was in big trouble. He could keep the mask up, or he could allow it to break and risk her poking around in his past. On the other hand, it had been a long time since he had opened up to someone else. So, against his better judgement, he allowed his mask to break and a laugh to escape.

She sat back, face full of delight. "Wow, a compliment and a smile!"

_Does she like my smile?_

He should shut this down before it becomes unmanageable and he lets something else slip. "Comment," he corrected. He still allowed his expression to be light-hearted and playful. No sense in shutting her down hard.

She apparently got the message. "I don't want to ruin the moment but I'm gonna have to answer with G4."

He looked down at his board and his face fell. As Skye said, Battleship wasn't really strategic, but you still had to think to win, and although he wasn't exactly upset, he knew she would gloat.

She didn't disappoint. As soon as she saw his expression, she began pressuring him. "Say it, Ward." He let out a frustrated sigh. She leaned forward and said in a low voice, eyes lit up with joviality. "Say it!"

"You sank my battleship," he said glumly, in an attempt to make her laugh.

He achieved his goal, as Skye pumped her fists. "Ha, ha, ha! Yes!"

"All right. Best two out of three," he replied, sitting up to rearrange his display.

"I beat you," she teased in a sing-song voice.

"Best two out of three," he said, pausing between every word to make sure she understood.

"That I just one out of nothing," she said in an attempt to goad him. It didn't work. She could trash-talk him all day and he wouldn't care. The two of them started playfully arguing as they set up the new game. However, before they had even begun, a SHIELD alert came in.

****

"Chan Ho Yin," Coulson announced as they filtered into Mission Control. "Just a struggling street performer until a few years ago, when Mr. Chan began to exhibit moderate pyrokinetic abilities."

Of course, that had caught his attention, but he was careful to keep his face blank. He already felt FitzSimmons eyes looking at him. He didn't want them to discover that the stories were true.

_But just how moderate?_

"So what gave him powers?" Fitz asked, leaning forward on the table.

"It's still under investigation, but Chan did live near the decommissioned WanTai Nuclear plant when it caught fire," Coulson replied, sweeping his eyes towards Ward. "To our knowledge, no other nearby residents have exhibited similar traits."

Simmons frowned, hands clasped together. "So how did we find out about him?"

"Informants saw him lighting torches in a street show. With his pinky," May explained.

He grimaced. For him, it would be child's play. Leo could destroy a primordial with his powers. How much more powerful would his flames be to their full extent? 

Fire is dangerous. It was a tool, sure, but it could destroy quite efficiently. Chan Ho Yin's power might be moderate, but he no doubt would be able to destroy quite efficiently if he wanted to.

"Brought it to SHIELD's attention," Coulson added. "We told him to keep his ability under wraps. He's been on the Index ever since."

"The Index?" Skye asked with a frown.

Simmons decided to answer. "It's a list that SHIELD keeps of people and objects with powers."

"Wait, what? How many people? Are you saying there are more people-"

"Not many," May interjected with a shake of her head.

"Well, enough to keep a list."

"A short list," Coulson stated with a sigh. "Meant to protect them."

Ward sighed. He was on it, and he personally hoped none of them found out. "But in rare cases, SHIELD has had to take action." It was one of the few things in the mortal world that made him uncomfortable. Not that they'd be able to kill him.

"Actions against objects?" Skye asked, an annoyed frown plastered on her face. "Or people?" She noted everyone's silence. "Well, that's drastic with a side of creepy. How are they monitored? Tapped phones, satellite surveillance, body probes in dark, unpleasant places?”

"Body probes. Now that's ridiculous," Fitz stated with an uncomfortable laugh. "We don't do that. Do we?"

Coulson shrugged. "The methods vary. Mr. Chan was low risk. He was assigned a case agent that checked in with him every few days. That's how we discovered him missing."

May pulled up a video conference. "Hello, Agent Kwan. How are you?"

"Not as good as I could be," Agent Kwan replied.

"Everyone, this is Agent Kwan," May introduced. "Chan Ho Yin's case agent. What can you tell us?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," he replied. "Chan is a magician, so at first I thought he made himself disappear." Ward snorted at this. 

"The file says you caught him violating his Index agreement before," Coulson stated.

"On two separate occasions," he listed. "Claiming we were 'hampering his artistic expression'. But late last night, he was taken by professionals. The only thing they left behind was this scrap of aluminized material."

Simmons leaned forward. "Fireproof clothing," she noted.

"So whoever took him knew about his power," Ward concluded. He already felt bad about this mission. He knew he would be helpful during this mission, but would it be this mission that elevated suspicions? He really hoped not.

"Yes, and I think we know why. Over the last few days, the tech division discovered a crack in our data stream. It's the same cyberpunks who hacked us before. Somehow they got in again. It's the Rising Tide."

There was another tense silence, as everyone looked at Skye, this time more suspicious then embarrassed.

Skye looked around the room, alarmed, as she processed Agent Kwan's words. Her gaze landed on Ward, which he responded by looking seriously back at her.

His first instinct was to trust her. He didn't believe that she would use her skills to endanger a man's life, and he didn't want to believe that she had betrayed them. Besides, with the look she's giving him, she doesn't seem like she's the one who did it.

"Hello?" Agent Kwan leaned towards the screen. "It got real quiet. You guys still there?"

****

"The Rising Tide is a _huge_ organization with hacktivists from all around the world. Any of them could've done this. It wasn't me!' Skye exclaimed a short while later in Coulson's office. Coulson was sitting behind his desk, expression cold while he was staring at Skye, arms folded across his chest. He realized that his body language was threatening, but he needed to make sure that she knew this was serious.

"No one's saying it was," he said gently.

"But you're thinking it! I can see your faces thinking it!" Skye protested, looking back and forth between them. He hated seeing her like this, but he knew she had to get Coulson's trust by herself. The only help he could give is his presence.

"We're assessing the situation," Coulson corrected calmly.

"Then I'm sure you're taking into account that I have been living on a plane with you this whole time. It would be impossible for me to hack SHIELD," she reasoned. He wondered if that was true. He was pretty sure none of them knew the true extent of Skye's abilities.

"Or easier," Coulson retorted. He clearly had the same thought as Ward. "We're going to need more than that."

"Fine," she replied. "Let me trace the hack, and I'll prove it."

As Coulson leaned forward, he decided to interject. "I believe her, sir." He was good at reading people and he saw no indication that she was lying. "And if she's telling the truth, we need to track down the person responsible."

Coulson stood. "Dig up something, and fast. The longer Mr. Chan's missing, the more danger he's in."

****

Ward watched intently as Skye stood at the holo-table, working furiously on her iPad. Although he needed to be there as her SO, he wasn't surprised when the rest of the team showed up. He knew that they all desperately wanted to trust her. Besides, they all impressed with her computer abilities.

"How close are we?" Coulson asked as he came into Mission Control.

"Almost there," Skye replied, still tapping furiously on the screen.

"She's identified the remote access trojan and the infected endpoint..." Fitz began.

"And is searching for a TCP to correlate the hypertext with signature information and then..." Simmons added.

"Bob's your uncle," Fitz finished as Simmons said, "Voila!"

"Did you get any of that?" Coulson asked, turning towards him.

"Yes," he replied. "You didn't?" he asked at Coulson's bewildered look.

"I don't know Computer Science," he stated.

"We got an origin," Skye announced. "Austin, Texas."

"You got a name?" Coulson asked.

"Just the cafe our hacker worked out of, but I'm in the system. I'm gonna check to see if any credit card charges from that day match up with any known hackers." She continued typing. "We got a hit," she announced as a photo came up. 

Fitz breathed a sigh of relief. "Miles Lydon, not Skye, that's to all of our relief."

He rolled his eyes. "Ευχαριστώ, Κάπτεν προφανή," he muttered under his breath. They were all thinking about it, but it was unnecessary for Fitz to say it.

"You know him?" Coulson questioned.

"Every hacker in the world knows him," Skye replied, smiling.

"Not just the hacker world," Simmons exclaimed. "He infiltrated the Kremlin!"

"Yeah, the picture of uh, Putin shirtless on horseback," Fitz explained. "That was his hack."

"It was also his hack that got Chan kidnapped," he interjected. He didn't want to be a killjoy, but he felt the need to remind them why they were tracking him down.

"May set a course for Austin," Coulson ordered.

"Just did," May replied.

"What about Chan?" Skye asked.

"Kwan's got a SHIELD team on the ground," he replied. "Our best bet is to chase this thing from the other end. Find Mr. Lydon, bring him in, see what he knows."

Coulson left the room, with the rest of the team dispersing.

****

_"Just left the cafe where Miles logged in,"_ Skye reported through comms. _"Cashier says she hasn't seen him in a week."_

"I may have eyes on him," Ward said as he hung around the corner of a block, where Miles stood, approximately ten feet away from him, but as he turned to look at him, he immediately fled. "I definitely have eyes on him," he sassed as he chased after him. "Heading East on 5th street," he relayed over comms. "Target is now in a silver Jetta."

 _"I got him,"_ Coulson replied as he proceeded to chase him in their SUV. _"I lost him,"_ he said defeatedly a few minutes later.

A while later, Coulson ordered him to pick up FitzSimmons and meet him at an apartment building.

Once they'd arrived, Coulson explained that he had ordered May to tail Skye and that she had led them to Lydon. he felt slightly miffed. If he had suspicions about her, why didn't he tell him? He's her SO! 

Then there was Skye's behaviour. Before entering the apartment, Coulson had warned them that they had been intimate with each other before May interjected, and Ward couldn't help but feel a little sick. He didn't understand why he was so upset. He knew it wasn't because he had failed to notice that she was a turncoat and the fact that he thought he knew her was only part of it. What was wrong with him?

So while Skye sat on the couch and begged Coulson to believe her, Ward kept out of her sight, in the corner, saying nothing and not looking at her. He didn't think he could stand it if he did. After she finished talking with Coulson, he felt her staring pleadingly at him, but he ignored her.

He overheard FitzSimmons talking in the corner, with Fitz asking how Skye could do this and Simmons defending her. The thought that the other team members were equally distraught gave him comfort.

Coulson went into the bedroom to talk to May and emerged shortly after. "Gather all the evidence and secure the prisoners. We got what we were looking for here. We're going to Hong Kong," he said as he and May took Miles out the door.

He looked down. The moment he dreaded had arrived. He really didn't want to do this. With a sigh, he put down the binder he was flipping through and walked towards Skye.

She tried looking at him before looking down after a few moments. "I'm sorry, Ward. This is not what it looks-"

"Hands," he interrupted, not sparing a glance. He could feel her staring at him incredulously before raising her hands up for him to cuff. She looked down with a defeated expression. "Now get up," he ordered, voice hoarse. Skye sighed deeply as she followed him, rubbing her wrists.

****

Ward watched as Skye and Lydon argued. At first, they just sat there, uttering not a single word. Then they started arguing about the difference between privacy and security. He found himself surprised that she was defending SHIELD, especially since she was disgusted at what SHIELD did to gifted. 

It was too much. He turned away from the screen, muted it and came up behind FitzSimmons, who were searching through Lydon's papers. "That guy is hiding behind platitudes," he said, revolted. He crossed his arms. "He's dirty. I can feel it."

"Scrubbed clean, actually," Simmons corrected him. "Nothing much on him. He's got no family records, his apartment's under an alias, and he plays a lot of Minecraft where he runs quite a nasty mob."

"Is it- is it Zombie?" Fitz guessed.

"Zombie Pigmen," Simmons replied disgustedly.

"Keep looking," he ordered. 

****

As soon as they found something, Coulson ordered Ward to go into the Cage to get them to talk. Before entering he took a deep breath, reminding himself that she was a suspect, and he needed to treat her like one.

He grimly walked into the Cage, carefully keeping a blank face. As soon as Skye saw him, she sat up straighter, looking at him pleadingly, like she was trying to tell him how badly she felt. He felt a pang but shut it down. Later, he would find out why. This wasn't the time for it.

He turned and looked at Lydon. "She's been defending you, saying you're a stand-up guy. So I'm going to give you a chance." He threw an envelope on the table. "Do you want to tell her? Or should I?"

Skye looked cautious, but Lydon replied arrogantly, "I don't have to listen to you."

"There goes your chance." He picked up the envelope and opened it, laying the contents on the table. "Your boyfriend here made a few deposits in the days following the leak. All said... it's about a million dollars."

Skye glared at Lydon. "What?" she asked sharply. 

"I can explain-"

She cut him off. "Did you sell information? Miles. Yes or no? Did you?"

"Yes, but..."

Skye lunged forward. "Oh, you are so dead! What the hell were you thinking?" Ward realized that he was glad that she was upset over this. It was proof that she had no part in this, and that made him glad.

"It was a million dollars," he protested. "A million dollars. It would change my life- our lives. And that woman was harmless, I looked into it."

"No one with good intentions pays that kind of money for information," she yelled furiously. "Did you ever think about that?"

"Of course I did," he replied contemptuously. "I never would have done if I thought-"

"Who's the woman you referred to?" Ward interrupted, trying to remain professional.

"A fan of the Rising Tide. Some rich girl in a flower dress. She knew all about me, said that I had a gift. She thought people like us deserved more," he answered.

"Oh, you deserve more," Skye retorted scornfully.

"She pointed me towards a Chinese SHIELD feed, wanted me to crack it," he continued. Skye glanced up at him worriedly.

"And you thought it was harmless?" he asked quietly. If Lydon knew how angry he was, he wouldn't be so calm about everything; he'd be shaking.

"I checked the data stream," he defended, "It didn't seem like anything you and I hadn't already put out there Skye. And I traced the account where the money came from to make sure it wasn't some evil corporation. It was just an eco-research lab. Otherwise, I would never-"

He leaned forward on the table. "Eco-research lab," he said thoughtfully, shooting a questioning look at Lydon.

Lydon looked back at him, clearly startled by Ward's sudden change of demeanour. "Yeah, insects, some study with centipedes." Skye and Ward looked at each other, this time in fear. "What's more harmless than that?" he asked, completely oblivious to their reactions.

****

Later, when Ward was gearing up to go to the Centipede research facility in Hong Kong, Coulson came over to him. "Agent May and I will be handling the fieldwork," he informed him. "You stay and oversee the prisoners." He walked off.

He felt confused. While he couldn't help but feel glad that he was kept out of this- mainly so he could keep his ability under the radar for much longer, he was more confused. "Sir?" he called out. Coulson stopped walking. "I was Skye's SO. It was my responsibility-"

"It was my call to bring Skye onto the plane," Coulson interrupted him. "And you warned me against it. My problem, I fix it."

As Coulson left, he left out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Maybe he wouldn't need to be involved and his powers could remain hidden for a while longer- he was certain that he wouldn't be able to keep his abilities hidden forever. Then came the realization that he would have to babysit Skye and her knucklehead boyfriend.

Only it didn't work out that way. Coulson and May immediately ran into trouble. He and FitzSimmons were monitoring the mission and he had to get bring both of the prisoners into Mission Control- Skye with her computer expertise, and Lydon so they could keep an eye on him.

"The entirety of the facility's been locked down," Simmons fretted.

"Are you sure about this?" Fitz asked Ward.

"No," he replied. He wished he could offer reassurance, but this was not the time for lies or half-truths. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lydon lean towards Skye and whisper, "This is pretty cool." He was glad when Skye ignored him and continued typing.

"The alarms disconnected the system from all exterior servers," Skye reported.

"So we'll have to get you on-site," Ward concluded.

"Yep."

"No way," Lydon said. "You're a hacker Skye," Lydon warned quietly, "Not Seal Team Six."

"No," Skye agreed, turning to look at Ward. "But he is."

He looked down at Skye, then at Lydon, smirking. She wasn't wrong.

As they geared up, he risked a little discussion with Skye. "When we go in, there'll be guards. I can't take them out and protect you at the same time, so I'll need you to get out of the way while I take them out. Can you do that?"

She nodded. "I will," she said soberly. He turned to leave, but she grabbed his arm and he turned back to look at her. "Grant, please. I want you to know that I am really, really sorry. I wouldn't have helped him if I knew what he had done." 

"I know," he said softly. Skye looked shocked like she didn't know he would be this understanding, and seeing as how cold he was acting earlier in the day, he couldn't blame her. "But we have a mission. We _will_ be discussing this later."

Getting into the building wasn't hard. True to her word, Skye kept out of the way as he knocked out the guards, following him as he got her into a control room. After making sure the room was secure, he peered over her shoulder trying to calculate how long it would take. Sure, he had faith that she was faster than the average hacker, but he needed to be prepared.

"How long is this going to take?" he asked, giving up on trying to calculate the time.

"Done," she replied, getting up and moving away from the computer. He was beyond impressed.

The two of them met up with Coulson and May, only to have to make a run for it outside the building before Chan blew himself up. As they watched the fire dissipate into the sky, he thought it might be good to convince Coulson to keep Skye on the team.

"Skye managed to extract some files from the building's mainframe," he told Coulson. "It's not much, but... Could get us a fix on Centipede."

"Maybe," Coulson replied distantly.

He looked at Coulson, and he knew that Coulson was feeling the loss of Agent Kwan and Chan Ho Yin. "You can't save someone from themselves, Sir."

"You can if you get to them early enough," Coulson replied, looking directly at Skye, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Coulson wasn't going to imprison or kick Skye off the plane.

****

When they got back to the Bus, May and Ward went directly to the bar while Coulson went to send Lydon on his way. He'd be glad if he never saw him again.

He watched as May poured him a stiff drink. "Make it a double," he requested.

Her lips twitched. "Is there any other kind?"

He snorted. He was glad for May's quiet demeanour, especially when he sensed Skye coming up behind him. Neither he nor May turned around when she began talking.

"So, I'm going to Coulson's office now," she began. "I figured you might want to be there, being my SO and all."

He looked down at his drink. He could reject her, but he figured that would be a little too cruel. If he joined her, he might even know why she had done it. "I'll go with you," he decided. As he turned around to face her, he felt May looking at him incredulously, but he ignored her. The look of joy on Skye's face was almost enough to make him fully forgive her.

****

When they got to Coulson's office, Ward stood to the side as Skye sat down.

Skye took a deep breath. "I didn't want anything to-"

"Stop lying," Coulson interrupted as he walked towards her. "Since the moment you stepped on this plane, you've been lying to my face, to all of us."

Ward narrowed his eyes, he was good at detecting lies, and he knew she was hiding something, but she wasn't outright lying. Could she have managed to lie to him?

"I haven't-"

"You're lying right now!" Coulson burst out. "I stood up for you to my team down there. And some of us started to believe in you, risked our lives for you. Why are you here?"

Ward looked at Skye. She seemed to be on the verge of bursting into tears.

"You've been keeping something from us, this whole time," Coulson continued. "And it wasn't just a boyfriend, you have a secret, Skye, and one chance to come out with it. That's now or I'm done with you."

Skye closed her eyes and took out a chip from inside her bra.

"What is this?" Coulson asked.

"It's everything I have," Skye admitted.

"On us?"

"On me," Skye replied, openly sobbing as Coulson took the chip and opened it, putting the contents on the screen. "That's why I learned to crack systems- why I joined the Rising Tide, to find any details I could about my parents." Ward felt a pang as she said it. He could relate, not knowing any of his parents as his aunt and uncle never spoke about them, how he had to wait until he was claimed to know about them. Skye had the luxury of technology. He, being a demigod, can't use technology on a daily basis without having monsters hunt him down. The only reason why he hasn't died yet is that in SHIELD, he's constantly on the move.

"There's nothing," she continued. "No records. There's no trace of them. My lifelong search has led to a single document- redacted."

"By SHIELD," Coulson noted.

"No matter what you do I'll never stop looking."

"You might not like what you find," Coulson said.

"It can't be worse than what I've imagined," she replied.

Ward walked towards her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "We'll help," he assured her. He gave Coulson a look. "Won't we?"

Coulson nodded. "We will." He gave her the box, then walked out.

"Do you need some time alone?" he asked gently as she placed the tracking bracelet on her wrist. She stood up and nodded as she left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this took very long. Almost three weeks. I don't know what's wrong with me. Anyway, in the original version, Ward rejects her offer to go to Coulson's office with her, and I changed it because I thought that it wouldn't fit him, mainly because his mother's Hestia and she's more forgiving than the other gods, a trait she passed down to Ward. 
> 
> In case some of you don't understand, Ευχαριστώ, Κάπτεν προφανή is ancient greek for 'Thank you, Captain Obvious'.
> 
> -Violet1309


	7. FZZT

**Chapter 7- FZZT**

****

Ward slammed the mag in and raised the pistol in a shooting position. Fitz had asked him to meet him in the lab to test the Night-night gun again. After Hong Kong, Fitz had been working on new weapons non-stop, trying to appease him. While he had already forgiven Skye, she had worked much harder, following every order without complaint, memorized every SHIELD protocol manual he gave her and even practised defence maneuvers during her free time. While he was glad she was taking training seriously, her change in attitude put a damper onto his mood. He missed how she joked around, and he felt that she didn't need to get on his good side. He had already forgiven her. What did she need to prove?

"Sorry, Fitz," he began. "It's close, but it's just not right."

Fitz's face fell. "Really? 'Cause Agent Coulson had no problems."

"It's an ounce too heavy," he replied.

Skye looked over at him from where she sat. "An ounce? Seriously?"

"It's the difference between success and failure," he answered, trying desperately to keep a straight face. In truth, he was teasing Fitz, but they didn't need to know that. "When you're on a rooftop with a 15-mile an hour wind, your target is 500 yards away..." He pointed towards the theoretical target.

"Yeah, but we do have a rifle," Fitz interrupted. He was clearly taking this personally.

He gave him an incredulous look. Did he really think he'd grab a rifle when a correctly weighted pistol was nearby? "Lose the ounce," he told him, laughing internally at Fitz's expression.

"Yeah, okay. On it," Fitz replied quietly as he left the lab. He knew as soon as he left, Fitz would make rude remarks about him, but that would be okay. It'd be worth it if Fitz managed to get Skye to laugh.

As he went to the lounge, he saw Coulson and May head down the stairs, with May heading directly towards the cockpit.

"Gather the team," he told Ward. "We have a mission."

He nodded and obediently headed towards the lab. As he neared, he could hear Simmons's voice. 

"I'm Agent Grant Ward," she said in a ridiculous voice. "And I could rupture your spleen with my left pinky; blindfolded."

He couldn't help but laugh at Simmons's imitation of him, though he was careful to keep it hidden. _Does she really think I sound like that? I'm twenty-five, not eighty._

He could also hear Skye laughing at Simmons's attempt. "That is dead on!" she exclaimed gleefully. He was used to people imitating him- it happened all the time at the Academy and Camp Half-Blood. It didn't bother him. Most of the time it was just teasing, and he didn't really care what other people thought of him. It was definitely nice to hear Skye laugh again. Turns out his plan worked.

He never told her, but he got a huge kick out of Jemma. She was socially awkward, incredibly intelligent and kind. He found that he could relate to her, and he marvelled at how much her personality matched his mother's, and he felt as if she was his sister (if Hestia chose to have any more children). He didn't tell her this, mainly because he thought she'd think it was weird.

Which is why he didn't say anything to her when he entered the lab. He didn't want her to be embarrassed, though he enjoyed how she jerked to attention when he said, "Hey! Hustle up and grab your gear. We're on a mission."

He didn't get the reactions he was expecting, instead, they smirked at each other and he could've sworn he heard Skye giggle, so he decided to play along. "Something funny?" he asked seriously.

Jemma looked at her teammates and decided to rescue them. "Oh, poor, silly Fitz." She grabbed the Night-night pistol from the table. "He mistakenly left a dummy round in the pistol," she explained with the most unconvincing expression ever. _How can she_ not _know how bad she is at lying?_ "Should be proper now," she finished, handing the pistol to him.

Ward took it from her without breaking eye contact. Should he call her out, or should he play along? Since they were about to go on a mission, he decided to let them have their fun. He swiftly raised the pistol to shooting position. He could tell Jemma was a couple of seconds away from bursting into laughter. "Great," he said, putting the gun down. "Thanks," he said over his shoulder as he walked out. As he guessed, they broke into laughter and he couldn't help but chuckle as soon as he rounded the corner.

****

"Troop leader's name was Adam Cross," Coulson said as they came to the campsite. "Apparently, he said he heard something in the woods, went to check it out. That's where the electrostatic anomaly occurred."

"What I don't understand is usually they're caused by a massive electrical storm," Fitz began as the team dispersed, FitzSimmons staying with Coulson to discuss theories, May went to one of the trucks while Ward and Skye walked around.

"But there wasn't a storm within a thousand miles of here last night," Jemma finished.

"This anomaly's different," Coulson interjected. "It has a side effect we've never seen before."

"The battery blew straight through the hood!" May exclaimed as she opened the hood of the truck.

"Landed over here," Ward reported, kneeling down to get a better look. "Hell of a force to create that kind of trajectory." Skye crouched down next to him and poked the battery with a stick. At least she didn't touch it with her bare hands.

He stood up and placed his hands on his hips, trying to pick out all of the details that he could. He sensed rather than saw Skye come up behind him. While she was supposed to shadow him, she had leaned so far forward that she had bumped into him, and when he turned to look at her, he found her copying his stance.

"What are you doing?" he asked, amused.

"I'm shadowing my Supervising Officer," she replied. For the first time since Hong Kong, her tone was not of a subservient underling, and more of the rebellious Skye he'd come to tolerate.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "Shadowing, not smothering," he told her, not bothering to hide his amusement. He took a hard look at one of the trees. "There're scorch marks all over that tree," he noted. "We're lucky the whole forest didn't burn down."

"I don't get it," Skye said as she passed the tree, continuing to follow him. "Seems to me like this electroshock thing was some freak lightning strike." Ward stopped listening to her when he came into the clearing. The rest of the team was already there examining the body. Skye hadn't seen the body, so she kept on talking, and he didn't stop her, knowing that she'd figure it out later. "I mean, why call us? What's the big..." She stopped, then let out a disbelieving laugh. "Oh. Never mind." She surged forward with renewed vigour.

"So sad a man died this way," Jemma said. "And yet so amazing."

"FitzSimmons, any idea what could cause an effect like this?" Coulson asked.

"Well, judging by the horizontal electrical charge," Fitz said as Jemma said, "There's the soliton hypothesis. Perhaps nanobatteries?"

"Time!" Coulson raised his hands in a gesture. "Let's try that again. Any idea what could cause an effect like this?"

"Hell if I know," Jemma said as Fitz said, "No clue."

"Seems to me like we're dealing with some freak natural event or a new high tech weapon," Ward interjected, looking at the body. The body had an unnaturally high heat signature, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Or," Skye said, inching closer to May, "Could it be someone from your uber-secret Index?"

"There's no one on the Index with this kind of power," May informed her. 

"That we know of," Coulson corrected. "I'll contact Agent Blake at SHIELD HQ, have him check it out. Whoever or whatever is responsible, we can't let this happen again."

Jemma stepped closer towards the body. She clearly saw something. "Fitz, see his forehead?" she asked. "Look at that endothelial discoloration."

Fitz looked up from the screen he was holding. "Yeah, same dispersal pattern as the strike on the truck."

"Could be an entry wound cauterized immediately," she theorized. As she peered at the wound, the body fell to the ground. Ward looked at Jemma worriedly as he sensed the heat signature jump to her.

"Freaky," Fitz commented.

"Freaky," Jemma agreed.

****

"You found something on Cross?" Coulson asked as Ward came into Mission Control.

"Many things, actually, but you already knew that thanks to my fancy SHIELD house arrest gizmo, tracking my every key swipe, my online activity, my cholesterol- just wish it came in another colour. Or come off," she informed them, finishing her rant by looking at Ward.

"The victim?" Ward asked. He had to agree with her, tracking bracelets was horrible and felt like an invasion of privacy, but it would ensure that she wouldn't betray them again.

"Adam Cross- single, no kids, originally from Wrigley, Pennsylvania, not far from here," she reported. 

"Been there," Coulson replied. "They have a nice little strawberry festival in the spring. Occupation?"

"Phys ed teacher at the local high school and varsity baseball coach, and troop leader and volunteer firefighter," she replied. "This guy makes Captain America look like 'The Dude'." She gave Ward a big smile. He turned to Coulson questioning and was met with the same look. "'The Big Lebowski'," she clarified. "Seriously?" she asked when they gave her a blank look.

He sighed. Another big difference between them. She knew all these pop culture references while he valued his life too much to enjoy them. He imagined her watching TV with Lydon. Not a pleasant thought. If Aphrodite was playing with his feelings, he would have to have a long talk with her.

"What about a criminal record?" he questioned. "Restraining order. Something that might give us a suspect."

Skye punched in a few keys. "Nada. Not even a parking ticket. I skimmed all of his posts, anyone linked to his pages, hoping for a crazy ex or a superpowered stalker and he's clean."

"Are you completely sure?" he asked. "You might have missed something."

"Ward's right," Coulson agreed. "We're missing something. Dig deeper." Skye nodded briefly, then left the room. 

****

The mission quickly took an unexpected turn. Fitz was monitoring any electrostatic events and had found one in a barn 20 miles away, so Ward, Coulson and May took the SUV and they headed towards there.

"Fitz, what's the latest reading," Coulson asked a while later.

 _"We're at 324 megajoules and growing stronger_ ," he reported through comms. _"Dangerous territory, Sir."_

 _"There's a farmhouse a mile north of you, right at the center of the signal,_ " Skye informed them. _"That's got to be it."_

"Skye, dig up everything you can on whoever lives at that barn," Coulson ordered. "We need to know who we're dealing with."

 _"Hold on there, what just happened?"_ Fitz asked. _"Um, it's gone,"_ he announced.

"What's gone?" Coulson asked.

 _"The electrostatic signal,"_ Fitz replied. _"It seemed to pulse, then disappear."_

Coulson turned to May. "We need a shortcut."

May nodded and turned the vehicle so they were cutting through a field and parked just in front of the barn.

The three of them walked around the barn, trying to find a way in, but not finding easily accessible ones.

"The door's barred from the inside," Coulson noted.

"Hayloft's open," he suggested.

"We could ram it open with the truck," Coulson said.

May kicked down the door. While he was glad that she had thought of it, he was a bit upset that he hadn't thought of that.

"Or..." Coulson said coyly.

He shrugged and went through the door first. That meant he was also the first person to see the floating body. 

"Scan the perimeter," Coulson ordered him. "Whoever did this couldn't have gotten far."

He went out of the barn to look around, only to find nothing.

"No sign of anyone," he reported as he came back inside. "No tracks, no vehicles down the road."

"Skye, we need real-time sat surveillance on this area right now," Coulson informed her.

 _"Hang on,"_ she replied. _"I think I found something that you might want to see first. Sending it over now. The guy who owned the farm's name is Frank Whalen. He's a volunteer firefighter at the same station house as our first victim Adam Cross."_

"Our two victims knew each other," Ward concluded.

_"They were both responders when the aliens crashed in New York."_

"Two victims from the same firehouse, found in the same weird way," he stated.

_"We're looking for a killer."_

****

"Evening gentlemen," Coulson said as Ward, May and he entered the firehouse to make sure the rest of the firefighters weren't killed. "Agent Phil Coulson with SHIELD. We were on the ground with you in New York."

"SHIELD, right," the chief said. "What's this all about?"

"We'd like to ask you a few questions," he replied. "Take a look around," he ordered the two of them.

A while later, Coulson's voice came through comms. _"Ward, cover the back door. No one in or out."_

"Yep," he replied, making his way to the back door. 

_"Coulson, I found it,"_ May told Coulson. _"It's a chitauri helmet. FitzSimmons, are you seeing this?"_

 _"It's not a weapon,"_ Jemma mused. _"Yet it caused a cranial discharge."_

Ward sucked in a breath sharply. He really hoped it wasn't what it thought it was.

 _"What are you doing with the helmet?"_ he heard Coulson ask the firefighter.

 _"What? The alien thing? It's a souvenir!"_ the firefighter exclaimed.

 _"Answer the question, Mr. Diaz,"_ Coulson said. _"What are you doing with the helmet?"_

_"The first time anyone's touched it since New York was a couple of nights ago!"_

_"Why?"_ he asked.

_"It had rust all over it. We were cleaning it."_

_"That wasn't rust,"_ Jemma realized. _"May don't touch it! Sir, he's not using a weapon- he's infected. I think the helmet was the source of some alien virus."_

Ward felt like he'd been punched in the face. If she was right, then the heat signature was the virus. He stretched his senses, searching for the firefighter, and became alarmed when he felt the high heat signature. He left his post at the back door and ran towards where Coulson was, meeting May along the way.

"All we did was clean it, I swear!" he heard the firefighter say as he came up to the door. "Me, Frankie and Adam, we- we were bored on the third shift so we decided to clean it. Adam and Frankie..."

"Mr. Diaz, I'm putting the gun away now, okay?" Coulson asked, holstering the gun.

 _"Sir, he's at 600 megajoules and climbing,"_ Simmons informed them. _"Sir!"_

"Clear everybody out," Coulson ordered them. "Clear everybody out, now."

He and May ushered the firefighter behind them away as they headed down the hall and cleared everyone out, waiting for Coulson to come out.

He never thought this day would end like this, standing in front of a firehouse waiting for a man to die, but that was the reality of the job- you never knew what would come next. There were three men- good men who routinely risked their lives for people, only to get killed because they were bored and touched the wrong thing. Life just wasn't fair.

****

He had a feeling of distress while Fitz scanned him for electrostatic energy. It took all of his willpower to stop his ADHD from going crazy, something that happened often when he was nervous, scared, or distressed.

"All clean," Fitz announced, "No sign of electrostatic energy."

"Um, anyone notice they're putting the infected alien thing in our truck?" Skye asked nervously.

"We're flying it to the Sandbox," Coulson replied.

"Sandbox?" Skye asked.

"It's a SHIELD research facility across the Atlantic," Jemma explained. "They specialize in hazardous materials."

"If what you suspect is true," Coulson said to Jemma, "That this is a virus, then those firefighters could be infected. They're gonna need a cure. Find one."

"Yes Sir," she replied as they headed back to the Bus.

****

The first sign that something went wrong was when he heard the alarm go off in the lab. At first, he thought Fitz had knocked something over again or created a mini-explosion. Alarms seemed to go off every day in the lab. Then Coulson's voice came over comms, telling everyone to go to the cargo hold for an urgent briefing. That in itself was unusual. Why the cargo hold?

"Why is Jemma locked in the lab?" Fitz demanded as soon as he got there. They could see her sitting dejectedly on the floor, not busily darting around like usual.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but we believe Jemma has contracted the chitauri virus," Coulson explained.

There was a moment of silence. Ward felt he'd been punched in the stomach. May's lips tightened and Skye burst into tears. Fitz's reaction, however, was the most heartbreaking to watch.

"No. No, no, no, no, no," he muttered to himself. He ran forward and started banging the lab's glass door. "Jemma! This _has_ to be a mistake. Tell them that it's a mistake. You must have miscalculated or something!"

Jemma stood up, looking as if she had aged twenty years. "No, Fitz. Agent Coulson is right. I have all the symptoms."

Fitz stood there for a couple of seconds, stunned before shaking himself out of his trance, "Well, that's it then. We're just going to have to fix it. I have some tools in my bunk. I'm going to rig a calibration tool for the vaccine you're going to develop. I'll be right back!" he called as he ran off.

The rest of the team walked over to the doors. Skye stopped crying and placed her hand on the glass doors. "Jemma," she said in a hollow voice. "Jemma, I am so sorry."

Jemma gave her a half-hearted smile. "It's okay, Skye. This is the risk you take when working with unknown elements."

Just then, Fitz raced back down the stairs, showing her his tools. "See Jemma? This is what we need to do. I'll make a delivery device. You just sit there until I'm finished." Both of them sank onto the floor, sitting back to back with only the lab doors as their barrier.

The rest of the team went over to Lola to strategize. 

"Simmons believes she contracted the virus approximately 36 hours ago when she received an electrostatic shock from the first victim," Coulson explained.

"How much time does she have?" Skye asked.

"Based on when the firemen were infected and how quickly their symptoms manifested, two hours at most," Coulson guessed.

"That's enough time, right?" she asked. "I mean, SHIELD has dozens of labs and scientists working on this thing, don't they?"

"They do," Coulson agreed. "How soon can you get us on the ground?"

"Three hours," May replied. "Our path to the Sandbox has us right in the middle of the Atlantic."

"Sir, correct me if I'm wrong, but..." Ward began. 

"Simmons will release a pulse that will blow this plane right out of the sky," Coulson replied calmly.

"We can't just sit here and let her die!" Skye exclaimed. "We have to do something!"

"There's only one person on this plane capable of finding a solution for this," Coulson replied, "And I'm willing to bet my life that she will." They turned to look back at Jemma, who was still sitting on the floor dejectedly.

"She's just a kid," May muttered. Just a kid. Sure, she was just a kid, but kids often experienced a lot of pain. Demigods were proof of that.

He left abruptly, going upstairs. He thought about telling the others about where he was going, but he just wanted to be alone for the time being. He knew he couldn't stay in cargo hold any longer. He went into Mission Control, pacing around until he the feed of the lab, drumming his fingers on the holo-table as he watched.

"Why aren't you down there?" Skye asked. She was standing at the entrance to Mission Control, looking thoroughly depressed.

Ward jumped. He hadn't heard or seen her come in. "They don't need an audience," he replied, trying to control his racing heartbeat.

"You can stay," Ward said when Skye turned around to leave. "If you want."

She turned around, walking over to him and came to a stop at the holo-table. "I hate this," she said softly. "I just feel so..."

"Helpless," he finished.

She turned to look at him, surprised. "Yeah," she replied. Apparently, the idea that he, Grant Ward, Superspy could feel helpless was a new thought for her. He had spent his whole life trying not to feel helpless, but he felt helpless more than he actually liked to feel.

He shook his head in disgust. "I wanted it to be a person," he admitted, pushing himself off the table. "Some superpowered psychopath, someone I could hurt, someone I could punish. That I could do. What I can't do, is protect you guys from stuff I can't even see. Or understand."

"So what do we do?" she asked, tears in her eyes.

"We wait," he replied. He sighed, crossing his arms. "And get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"For whatever it is we're called upon to do," he replied. The two of them stared at each other until Skye nodded and glanced down.

****

A short while later, Ward saw through the footage that Fitz had run into the lab. _What the Hades is he doing?_ He rushed down to the lab, meeting May along the way. Coulson and Skye had already gathered there.

This time, he stayed with the rest of the team, tapping occasionally on his thigh as they watched the science twins develop an anti-serum. No one spoke as Fitz gave the remaining rat the anti-serum.

"I can't breath," Skye stated. He felt the same way.

Just as it seemed like it would work, and FitzSimmons seemed to be on the verge giving each other a celebratory hug, the rat emitted an electrostatic pulse and rose up in the air. Ward closed his eyes. He felt like he was about to throw up, but he forced himself to open his eyes. Maybe they could find a way.

Jemma approached Coulson, albeit tearfully. "Sir, I know the protocol in these circumstances, but could you please tell my dad first?" she requested. "I just think my mum would take it better if it comes from him."

"We're not there yet," Coulson protested. "There's still time."

"Sir, please," she begged.

Coulson nodded reluctantly.

She turned to the rest of the team. "Would you mind if I had a brief moment with Fitz?"

Ward sighed, turning around to head up the stairs and into Mission Control. It was the only area he could be. The rest of the team filtered in (with the exception of FitzSimmons) and May went into the other room to answer a summons but returned before long. "Agent Blake is on the line," she informed Coulson. "He wants to know what's going on. If you won't answer, he asked for Ward."

"Sir. What are our orders?" Ward asked, tensing up.

Coulson turned around to face them. "They're unchanged."

As soon as Coulson was done talking, an alarm went off.

"What is that?" Skye asked.

May hurridly scrolled through computer screens to identify the source. "Someone's lowering the cargo-hold ramp," she informed them.

It didn't take long for him to realize what was happening. _It's what I would do._ He took off towards the cargo-hold hoping to intercept Jemma before she jumped.

When he got to the stairs, he saw Fitz trying to put a parachute on and failing. Ward jumped over the railing, not bothering to use the stairs and hit the ground rolling coming up behind Fitz, taking the parachute from him.

"The anti-serum worked, but she jumped!" Fitz explained over the roar of the wind, giving him the calibration device. With one arm around the parachute, he jumped out of the cargo-hold.

As he freefell towards the ocean, he spun himself around to right himself, get the parachute on, and fasten it. After letting himself freefall for a few seconds, he held out his arms to slow down his fall. It would be pointless to keep falling if he didn't know where she was.

He scanned the sky for her when he saw Jemma's body falling towards the ocean. He placed his arms firmly by his side as he shot towards her. The water was coming up fast and he knew that it wouldn't be long before he had to pull the chute.

He once again held out his arms to slow down his fall. If he shot past her, it would've been all for nothing. Jemma seemed to understand what he was doing because she copied his stance to slow her fall. He grabbed Jemma, pulled the chute on the parachute and administered the anti-serum onto her leg, hearing gasp in pain. He hung onto her as the parachute slowed down the fall.

_Let's hope we have enough time to slow down before we hit the water._

They took a deep breath as the electric current flowed out of her, and she leaned back on him as they floated gently onto the water.

****

Once they were in the water and Ward had taken the parachute off, Jemma glanced at Ward smiling. "Ward, that was an incredibly silly thing to do. But I'm grateful that you did it."

He felt ecstatic. He'd saved her! He smirked. "Well, I had to. What would we do if one of us contracted an alien virus?"

At that, Jemma burst into hysterical laughter, and Ward kept grinning. Once she had calmed down, Ward added, "Besides, if you died, I bet Fitz would've been depressed. He practically trails after you like a lost puppy."

Jemma's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I don't think he does," she replied. "I would've noticed."

He shook his head. "Not if you were doing the same thing," he teased.

She flushed scarlet. "No, I don't!" she protested.

Ward laughed. " _Okay,"_ he drawled.

She blinked. "Are you teasing?" she asked incredulously.

Ward rolled his eyes. "Not like it's illegal to joke," he said irritably. 

Jemma shook her head. "I just didn't think you were capable of it."

He snorted. "You must be tired. Why don't you lie down? I'll make sure you don't drown."

"Okay," she replied as she followed his suggestion.

****

"Don't get me wrong," Coulson said, frustrated as he ranted at both of them. "I'm glad you're both alive. Truly. And, I realize, that you were trying to save the team. But what you did today, that was not your call. Just, getting you out of the water! Do you have any idea what a pain it is dealing with the Moroccan office?" Ward glanced over at Jemma. Coulson's words seemed to have no effect on her. Clearly the girl rarely, if ever, got into trouble. "Don't you _ever_ pull a stunt like that again. We'd hate to lose you, Jemma," he finished. He sat down and started flipping open the files on his desk.

As Ward started to head out, Jemma had a confused expression on her face. "Oh, does that mean we're to leave now?" she asked. 

Coulson gave her a look as she followed him out of the room.

"So," Ward started once they had gotten to the bottom of the stairs. "What did you think of your first time skydiving?"

"Honestly, I'd rather not think about it anymore," she replied with a shudder.

He smiled. "I thought what you did was incredibly brave," he said as he spun around to face her.

Jemma looked alarmed. _What now?_ "Oh," she said in a timid voice. "Well, I-I suppose now's a good time as any to tell you that, uh, I may have misled you earlier," she said, shifting on each foot.

He felt torn between exasperation and the desire to laugh. _Is she really upset about the Night-Night Pistol?_ He crossed his arms, amused.

"You see when I gave you back the Night-Night Pistol, I lied," she admitted. "It's still an ounce off."

"I know," he said gently, trying not to laugh. He didn't think Jemma would respond well if he did.

"You do?" she asked, surprised.

"Of course," he replied. He smirked. "After all," he imitated her posture and voice when she was imitating him. "I'm Agent Grant Ward. And I just jumped out of a plane without a parachute on, and saved your life."

"Actually, that's not quite it," Jemma said, laughing. "It's a bit more nasally than that."

Ward huffed and rolled his eyes.

He turned around as he heard someone coming up behind him. 

"Oh. Hello Skye," Jemma said in a small voice. Skye stood looking tearful, then she rushed past Ward to envelop Jemma in a big hug. The two girls just stood there hugging, both extremely thankful to have the chance.

After they were done hugging, Jemma disentangled herself. "Well, I haven't seen Fitz yet," she informed them. "I must go and apologize for hitting him on the head."

After Jemma had hurried off, Skye looked at Ward. "That was an amazing thing you did," she told him. "Stupid, but amazing."

He smiled. "All in a day's work," he joked as he turned to leave.

Skye put out a hand to stop him. Ward looked at her.

She took a deep breath. "For a while there, after you jumped, I thought you were gone. I thought you were both gone, and I almost couldn't stand it. I'm just grateful you're both okay." Ward opened his mouth to reply, but Skye held up a hand. "Please, let me finish," she pleaded him. Ward nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "I realize that I hurt both you and the team when I contacted Miles. I am truly sorry for what I did and I will do anything to make up for it. I just wanted to make sure that you know that."

As she turned to leave, Ward stopped her. "Skye," she turned around in surprise. "You've already apologized multiple times. I already told you- you don't need to apologize. I've already forgiven you. You wanted to help a friend. There's nothing wrong with that. I did the same thing once." He paused. "But it was a little more serious than yours."

"What happened?" Skye asked curiously.

He smiled. "I disobeyed orders from my SO to warn my friend and took upon myself to give him the address of one of my safehouse. Though my SO didn't like the assignment in the first place, so she wasn't too hard on me."

Skye's face lit up. "Aha! Your SO's a girl! You going to tell me who she is?"

Ward grinned. "Why don't you guess?"

As Skye stood there deep in thought and listed multiple female agents that she somehow knew the names of, one of them being Victoria Hand, he couldn't help but laugh. Maybe being on a team is something he could enjoy after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this took the longest out of all of them. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'll try to post the next chapter soon to make up for this long wait. 
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter, I'm going to have them run into Natasha in the Hub, but I was also thinking of adding Clint, but I want to hear your opinion on whether he should tag along or not. 
> 
> -Violet1309


End file.
